Between Two Fires
by ThSamurai
Summary: Sequel to 'They say unto me'. Mysterious suicides, a college sorority, and a Las Vegas illusionist intertwine in a case so bizarre it will have even Richard guessing. Meanwhile, remnants of Koriand'r's past continue to follow her.
1. The Runner

Here I am after a short break. You're loveable little fuzz ball writer with talent on loan from God! I am happy to say that I've had the plot for this new one rattling around in my rather thick skull for some time so updates should be frequent (hopefully). This is of course dedicated to everyone who enjoyed the first one. I hope this lives up to it. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter One

The Runner

_And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity._

_Mathew 17:27_

It was late in the afternoon, closer to early evening actually. The hollowed out halls of the Fair Oaks mall were filled almost to the brim with hundreds of shoppers. Over the PA system a female voice droned on and on repeatedly about announcements pertaining to the coming week. Clumps of people gathered around the various kiosks. Many children stared longingly outside the pet shop and toy stores; mostly at animals and trinkets they would not likely come into possession. It might have been called an oxymoron to refer to this bustling crowd as calm, though the normality of this behavior certainly wasn't out of the ordinary. And yet there was still something that could disrupt the flow of constantly moving people.

The scanners beside the entrance to a clothing store suddenly began ringing their shrill alarms. A few people nearby turned their heads to see what was happening. Out of the store burst a young girl, by the look of her only slightly older than twenty. The numbers of security guards grew and grew as she hastily sprinted down the length of the mall. As she approached a corner a single guard assumed that he could swiftly jump out and surprise her down to the floor. However his plan went awry when she simply barreled on through him by hitting him in the nose with the bottom of her hand. By now everyone stopped and watched as the thief sprinted herself to new fatigues. One of the guards blindly reached for his radio while he ran and ordered that someone attempt to circle around and head her off. No matter what barriers were placed before this girl she made short work of them. Her acrobatic skills became apparent when a kiosk stood in her way; she leapt up and flew through the small archway made by its roof. Despite her persistence the security guards as well as a few police offers pursued her.

--

A short distance down the mall Victor Stone stood at a cell phone stand, attempting to replace his broken phone. He turned the new model over and over in his hands.

"So let me get this straight, I get this premium plan and I get the twenty-thousand volt security system and the beaming technology?" The salesmen moved his eyes about quizzically.

"Sir, what are you talking about?"

Victor chuckled and shook his head. "It's a joke man, never mind. Alright this looks good, sign me up-"

"OMPF! HEY WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" A man shouted as the hurrying girl burst through him and his wife. She stumbled somewhat but was soon back on track and speeding down hall. Victor arched a brow at the scene. He saw the long line of guards following after her and clued in.

"We'll finish this later," he said to the salesmen and setting his new phone back down, joined in on the chase. He quickly made his way up the length of the lines of guards and police until he found the man in charge. He found him and few others huddled near a large pillar and talking over the radio.

"Well who's down there now?"

"Hey," said Victor walking up.

The guard covered his radio. "Who are you? Stay back we'll handle this." Victor showed him his badge.

"Victor Stone, FBI. What's going on here?"

"Thief-zilla is what happened. Much as we all appreciate the feds coming to our rescue we can handle this just fine." Victor rolled his eyes.

"I'm not trying to trump you or anything; I'm just offering an extra badge and an extra gun." The captain of the guard thought for a moment then nodded. He motioned for Victor to come closer and pointed to the girl, now standing in the middle of the food court. She had long brown hair and wide jumping blue eyes.

"Caught her trying to walk out of an American Eagle with a scarf or something. Normally this isn't something to call in the cavalry over but she's brought down three of my men; one has a broken arm, took his nightstick and cracked it over him. We try to chase her down and she ends up being some kind of human spider monkey."

Victor drew his weapon and checked the clip. "She said anything?"

"Not a word," replied the captain staring intently at his target.

"Right let's go in, I'll follow your lead." The captain gave the necessary hand signals and very carefully the small army of law enforcement came out of hiding and encircled the girl. She darted her eyes from all of them, breathing heavily and swallowing constantly. The captain gave Victor the go ahead and he slowly walked towards her. She backed away suddenly, raising her hands.

"Wait!" Said Victor putting up his own hand. "Nothing serious has gone down here, just chill and come quietly." Her mouth was shaking. Victor took a closer look at her and noticed something strange about her eyes. It seemed as though they were screaming at him, pleading with him to take action. She flicked her wrist and a strange device fell out into her hand. Victor's eyes followed it and to his horror saw that it was a small trigger; a thin wire ran from back up her sleeve. "Oh my God….." She twisted her head and shot a quick glance at the proprietors of a Donut Shop behind her. They back away fearfully. Then, without warning, she suddenly raised both her arms toward the ceiling.

Victor ran toward her. "NOOOOOOOOO!" Her finger pressed the small button and in half a second everything around her in a thirty foot radius was engulfed in a deafening explosion. Like a claymore, hundreds of pieces of shrapnel were sent in all directions. Bits of the ceiling fell and crumbled upon the floor. When the smoke cleared there was nothing left of the silent thief, or much of anything of the Donut shop behind her. From the survivors, a few low moans could be heard. The sirens of the fire department could already be heard in the distant.

Beneath the weight of an overturned table, Victor lay shrouded in dust and bits of drywall. He was motionless, with a deep gash upon his head a large pool collecting near his midsection. He was alive, but whether or not the EMT's would reach him in time was the real question.

* * *

TRINITY COLLEGE………………..

On a dry erase board the professor of a psychology course jotted some new notes for her lecture.

"Criminal-Profiling," She said as she wrote the words up on the board. She had dark, almost purple, shoulder length hair. "It's been done ever since criminal justice and psychology joined forces decades ago. And it's since then been an invaluable tool on countless investigations. It allows investigators to use these profiles as a template and to draw conclusions on their own suspects." A student then raised his hand.

"Dr. Roth?"

"Yes."

"I'm not really sure if this is a stupid question or not; but if this kind of profiling is so well known, then why don't criminals continually search for original ways to commit their crimes? Otherwise they just fall into a category and end up being caught."

Rachael nodded. "Typically the criminal mind tends to be more pathological than logical. I'm sure you've heard of how some criminals cannot be cured of their obsessions or perversions; it's been ingrained into their subconscious and in a sense become a part of who they are. Which is part of my next question to you all." Rachael walked away from her blackboard.

"Is this gonna hurt professor?" asked a rather nervous student.

"Not particularly," replied Rachael with a wink. "Now, picture this; a family is gathered at a funeral for the death of their mother. One of the daughters is grieving over her loss when she spots a young man in the crowd. Instantly she is smitten and falls head over heels for him. The ceremony ends and they all leave. Once at home she realizes she didn't ask him for his number and since had no way to contact him." She paused for a moment. "A few days later she killed her sister." At this many of her students grew mighty uncomfortable. They glanced at one another strangely. "Can anyone guess the motive behind her actions? Mind you, this is the one question you should strive to get wrong." After a long moment a tall kid in the back raised his hand. "Yes."

"She found out her sister was already involved with him?"

"Nope, well done."

"She went absolutely nuts and released her blind rage on the first person she saw?"

Rachael nearly rolled her eyes. "Wrong, anyone else?" No one raised their hands and she inwardly sighed. "Well thank God for that, here it is; she killed her sister in the hopes that her dream guy would show up at the funeral." Twenty-four jaws dropped all at once. "This was a classic test used to profile the mind of a possible serial. And I'd just like to say it's a big relief that you all got it wrong. Now-" Her voice trailed to silence at the sight of Logan at the door three levels up. He waved meekly and looked in a random direction. "…Now I want you to take this test and compare it with observations by Brussel and Hayward. Expect a quiz any time this week, alright you're all dismissed." With slight murmurs and whispers they rose from their seats and walked up the steps on either side of seats. Once the room was cleared Logan made his way down to Rachael.

"What do you want?" she asked in a rather icy tone. He cleared his throat.

"Could ya be civil with me for one second, I gotta tell ya something." She moved her eyes back to her material which she began stuffing into her bag.

"What is it then?"

"It's Victor." She momentarily forgot her spite and looked at him wide eyed.

* * *

PROVIDENCE HOSPITAL………………..

Victor lay still motionless and sedated in a hospital bed with the aide of several life-support machines. Richard sat in a chair off to the side, lightly tapping the end of his cane against the floor. His cane almost timed exactly with the sounds of the heart monitor. Toni entered and adjusted Victor's morphine drip. She became aware that Richard had hardly taken notice of her. Toni set down Victor's chart and tapped Richard on the shoulder.

"Richard?" He didn't answer her. "Richard, go home."

"Mmmm."

"Richard everything that can be done is being done-"

"He still alive?" She nodded. "And your still here because……" Toni snatched up her chart and left him alone. However he did not begin his vigil by himself, for it was not long after Toni took her leave that Koriand'r, or Kory as she is known to the people of earth, entered gripping a steaming cup of coffee. She set it beside Richard and claimed a seat next to him.

"Thanks," he said quietly. Kory was of course deeply concerned for Victor but her attention was currently on Richard. They had arrived over three hours earlier and he had not budged an inch.

Kory darted her eyes between the two partners and smiled. "Victor is a most……durable individual and he is Toni's very capable hands. I am certain he will make a full recovery."

"Yeah." Faint foot steps could not be heard but they grew louder and closer together. Soon Rachael flew into the room and let her bag fall to the floor. Kory rose at the sight of her.

"Friend Rachael!" She met with Kory in a fleeting hug. Rachael steadied herself at the end of Victor's bed.

She turned her eyes to Richard. "What happened?"

"Bomb," replied Richard without looking away from Victor. Rachael tried her hardest to keep her breathing steady.

"I-Is he-"

"He's still alive….for now." Richard stood up and for the first time since he arrived walked out of Victor's room. Both girls watched Richard leave without a word. Kory turned back to Rachael and held her by her shoulders.

"I will return in a short while." The dark haired woman nodded while looking intently at Victor. Kory gave Rachael one last glance of woe and followed after Richard.

--

Logan leaned back so far in his chair that he was almost lying down. His friend and colleague Shannon was currently bent over an open file and she kept darting her eyes between it and her computer monitor.

"I could really use Danielle's help right now."

"She's off limits, remember?" said Logan, though his voice traveled directly upward. Shannon looked over at him wit ha slight grimace.

"No, she's avoiding us because neither she nor Richard is willing to give up this stupid war they're having. Meanwhile we're stuck chasing an arms dealer through cyberspace and all we've got is one stupid alias."

"You mean 'Gizmo' isn't enough to find the guy?" asked Logan insipidly. He reached over and took up a mini basketball the size of softball. He tossed it up and down in the air, catching it every time. Taking a departure from her job, Shannon twisted around in her chair and looked at him strangely.

"If you don't mind my asking, what's with you and Rachael right now?" Logan's hands absently let the ball slip past them and it bounced off his forehead. He craned his head back up and stared at her with a 'you-mean-you-can't-tell' look. He was saved by the disgruntled, yet brilliant, cripple. Richard entered their quarter and went straight to his desk.

"Something new on our arms dealer?" asked Shannon.

"Yeah, he's probably bald," mumbled Richard. Shortly Kory glided into the room, only semi-cognizant of anyone who might've seen. Richard stood back up somewhat ungracefully, clutching a set of car keys. "Funny young co-ed blows herself up…." He now stood among the three of them. "What up with that?"

"I take it this has something to do with why Victor is now in Toni's care," said Shannon.

"They are possibly…somewhat..definitely connected," said Richard. He nodded at Logan. "You're the bomb guy, head down to evidence/recovery. Pick through any every piece of shrapnel they brought until you find something worth showing me." He then turned his attention to Kory and Shannon. "You two get back to the mall, use your shiny FBI badges and get surveillance footage, statements from the guards, the works. I want to know why this happened and if its going to happen again."

"Uhh what about-" Shannon pointed behind her at the work she had previously been engrossed in.

He shrugged as though he didn't have a clue what she was talking about. "What about what?"

Kory took Richard's shoulder. "She is referring to the dealer of weaponry, the one we have been tracking for the past three weeks…" He darted his eyes about then snapped his fingers.

"Oh yeah! Now I remember, forget about him. I had the ATF pick him up a few days ago." Kory and Shannon exchanged exasperated gawks. Shannon swallowed down her rage.

"You're telling me that you solved the case days ago and you didn't bother to tell me while I was still sacrificing enjoyable sleep for this?"

"You looked bored." The three of them simply stared at him while he stared back with a tiny smile. "What? You're surprised that I'd do something like that? Oh children, daddy would never lie to you……he just likes to mess you a little." Chuckling. he and his third leg made their way outside. As usual Logan and Shannon immediately round on Kory.

"I will speak with him."

* * *

Toni carefully poked her head into Victor's room, mostly to ensure that Richard was no longer present. She saw that only Rachael was there and that it was safe to do her job.

"He is……going to be okay isn't he?" asked Rachael.

Toni tried to avoid looking her in the eye. "Well I've already brought Richard up to speed-"

"I'm sure you have," said Rachael in a low tone. "But I would like you to tell me." Toni clutched the chart she was holding ever tighter.

"You want me to be honest with you, right?" Rachael folded her arms. "Shrapnel has perforated a section of his right lung. We managed to stop his internal bleeding but if his heart rate jumps to anything above the norm it could start again." Rachael gradually returned her gaze to Victor. "He's going to need surgery, a lot of surgery. I really wish I could honestly give you better news, but at the moment it just looks bleak." Rachael closed her eyes, they were beginning to water.

Toni whispered, "I'm sorry."

* * *

I realize that may not have been that big of an opening but trust me, the scope of this story will increase. I really just wanted to start off as though this was just another chapter from the first story, like we're picking up right where we left off. I'm not really gonna specify how much time is between the two stories because I do that too often. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the opening chapter and this thing will really get underway with the next one. Laters!


	2. A Visitor

Hello again thrill seekers and enjoyers of fine writing, I say fine because I consider my writing to be……just fine. I realize that the first chapter was too short but hopefully this will make up for that. Also I have a lot of people to thank for their reviews so let's get to it; **Bella-Rose, Cartoonfire, With Closed Eyes, Danielle, Crimson Black, Skyler-A-Teloiv, Tennisgal456, The Joker (**you were amazing by the way), **Cageandshun, True-Blackfire, Lordominoo, Tefren, Tremiumn, Kilpe the lazy man, Arkham Boy, Mikelsans, Elik, Noriea, Masarien, Gepsman, Fatal-Lord**.

Thanks a lot all of you. Your reviews only encourage me. Sit back, relax, and Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Two

A Visitor

Toni carefully poked her head into Victor's room, mostly to ensure that Richard was no longer present. She saw that only Rachael was there and that it was safe to do her job.

"He is……going to be okay isn't he?" asked Rachael.

Toni tried to avoid looking her in the eye. "Well I've already brought Richard up to speed-"

"I'm sure you have," said Rachael in a low tone. "But I would like you to tell me." Toni clutched the chart she was holding ever tighter.

"You want me to be honest with you, right?" Rachael folded her arms. "Shrapnel has perforated a section of his right lung. We managed to stop his internal bleeding but if his heart rate jumps to anything above the norm it could start again." Rachael gradually returned her gaze to Victor. "He's going to need surgery, a lot of surgery. I really wish I could honestly give you better news, but at the moment it just looks bleak." Rachael closed her eyes, they were beginning to water.

Toni whispered, "I'm sorry."

* * *

By the time Richard was out of hearing range from anyone, he was already pressing the speed dial on his cell. His destination was a parking garage and it was the only spot he was sure not to meet anyone anytime soon. The one he was calling picked up after only a single ring.

"_This is probably very important, for you to call that is_."

"That is a very good guess Bruce," replied Richard dryly. "Well I did get my super awesome detective skills from you, I got everything from you." He thought for a moment. "Except my sense of humor……that I got from my mother. Everything else is all you. My personality on loan from you, and I hope to return it someday."  
"_This is important isn't it_?" Richard put away his comedic self.

"Yeah. You've heard about Victor, right?"

"_Before you did I'm afraid, his condition is critical_." Richard closed his eyes. "_I can be there in three hours._"

"No, I just needed to ask you something-" Turning in place, he saw that Kory had followed him and was now coming closer.

"_What is it?_"

Richard watched Kory get closer and closer. "Is 'Arcturus' up and running?" There was a short pause in Bruce's speech.

"_I'll see what I can do_." Just as Richard snapped his phone shut Kory finally reached him.

"Richard….."

"Kory, everything I do has a reason behind it."

"Must that reason always be to belittle your friends?" He let his eyes wander away from her. "Look at me, please." He turned back to her and she softly embraced him. In his ear she then whispered; "Shannon passed on a date to work on that case." He parted with her. Up until Kory came into his life, Rachael had been the only who could make Richard feel any kind of remorse over his, for lack of a better term, shenanigans.

"Boo-hoo, this is her job, and yours. Speaking of which, aren't the two of you supposed to be doing it right now?" The discouraged red head nodded. "Kory, even you have to know I can't change over night."

"But it has not been 'over night', an entire year has passed."

Richard raised an eyebrow. "Well it's been five years since Barb, so I guess you have some catching up to do." Kory lowered her head and laced her fingers together.

"I suppose I do." With a slight jump, Kory took the air and quickly made her way into the cover of some low hanging clouds.

* * *

The elevator doors parted, allowing Logan to step out onto the floor labeled **Sub Basement 2A**. He passed through a series of double swinging doors until he finally arrived in Danielle's department. Her dutiful subordinates were currently working tirelessly over various pieces of evidence. One of them currently used a handheld saw, making the room a bit noisy. Logan bent down and spoke to one of them.

"Excuse me, I'm-I'm looking for Danielle!" He nodded off toward an enclosure in the far corner. Upon reaching the door Logan saw a sign which read; _Do Not Enter, Important work being done_. "Righhhhht." He pushed open the door and to his great lack of surprise he found Danielle fast asleep in her chair, a pair of headphones loosely clasped over her ears. The complete lack of sound from the activities outside told him that she had had the walls made specifically to block it out. He smiled and unplugged her headphones. She woke with a start, almost knocking over a stack of long finished reports. As soon as her eyes refocused on a smiling Logan she fully sat up.

"So rude…."

Logan folded his arms. "You're peons are working pretty hard, it just didn't seem fair."

"Uh huh, were you sent down here for something?"

"Dick mentioned something about shrapnel from the mall bombing."

"Ah! Over here," said Danielle rising to her feet. She led him out of her office and back into the noise filled workshop. They walked past the lines upon lines of metal tables covered with numerous and varying pieces of evidence. Their short walk took them far across the room away from the strident sounds of machinery. "As you can see there's really not much left over." Logan picked up a charred and terribly bent piece of metal tubing. After carefully rubbing his fingers over the inside of the casing he set it back down.

"Pipe bomb."

"That's what I thought," agreed Danielle. "She wore some kind of vest which allowed her to carry four of them around her person. Within each tube was an inner casing which held the explosive, the outer lining held a generous supply of nuts and bolts. They were all wired with a remote trigger and as soon as she clamped down on it…"

"She became a human claymore," Logan finished grimly.

"Grim, I know…" mumbled Danielle. "Speaking of grim, I heard things between you and Rachael hasn't necessarily been hunky-dory."

Logan nodded while he still examined bits of the shrapnel. "Yeah well, telling your girlfriend that you were the accomplice to a psycho can have that effect on a relationship."

"It wasn't as though you signed up for that though," protested Danielle.

"Oh come on," exclaimed Logan. "You're the same species as Rachael, when has something like that ever mattered?" She lowered her eyes. "Just forget it." Logan's hand then roamed over a blackened object. Picking it up, he saw that it was a charred remains of a piece of jewelry. "What's this?" Danielle squint her eyes at it and shrugged.

"Some kind of class ring I think." Logan mentally agreed. Even though it had been burned and twisted, there could be no mistaking its ornate design. He vaguely heard Danielle ask him if he could smuggle something for him.

"Wha..?"

"This USB key," said Danielle waving it before him. "I would really appreciate it if you could just take this back upstairs-" Logan immediately began shaking his head.

"Uh uh, no way-you and Dick going at it is fun to watch but bad to get involved in." She protruded lower lip and whimpered.

"All you have to do is plug into his computer, pleeeeeeaaaassseee?"

"No." While he still had the opportunity, Logan turned and took his leave. She let her shoulders sagged and pocketed the cyber bomb. As he walked, Logan kept half of his attention on the burned ring. He soon began to get some idea how of Richard felt as he looked upon a new clue. A picture was said to be worth a thousand words……well, the same could be said for a ring.

* * *

WITHIN THE VACUUM OF SPACE……………..

It was difficult to find someplace more quiet and tranquil than outer space. The absence of anything right down to gravity itself gave way to absolute silence. Yet there was something that broke that silence. An oval object, more closely resembling an egg, streaked toward the moon like a screaming torpedo. A blanket of bluish purple energy flowed around it and formed a long tail which trailed behind. It would not strike the moon, but nothing was stopping it from inevitably crashing down upon Earth.

* * *

DAEDALUS U.S. AIR FORCE BASE, Afghanistan………………..

Any and all officers within the communications and satellite center worked diligently and quietly. It was during the time of day when activates such as local radio chatter and long range communications were at a standstill, namely, well into the twilight hours of the night. A lone radar operator sat at his station keeping his concentration in his work. Off to the side two other officers were able to catch a free moment and were filling cups of coffee for those still hard at work. The radar operator received his mug, thanking the private and took a sip. As he drank his eyes fell on a small photo of his family back home. He grinned as he recalled how frosty the summers of Texas were compared to this place. Everyone in that photo never missed an opportunity to say 'hi' or 'thank you' to him and his fellow officers. Just as he began to concentrate on the jubilantly laughing face of his wife, a red light behind the photo began blinking behind her face followed closely by a successive beeping. Immediately he removed the picture, answered the call, and looked over at the fax machine. The printer spit out a single printed page and went silent. He tore the page out of the machine and gave it a quick read. It only took him half a second to register its contents and quickly made for an office across the hall. He knocked his knuckles against the door and entered.

"Colonel."

"At ease Sergeant," replied the sergeant's superior. "What can I do for you?"

"Sir, we just received a priority one communiqué from ." He directed his eyes to the page and read aloud. "_Have detected unidentified anomaly with definite bearing of planet fall….Trajectory is ballistic…..Estimated coordinates of re-entry approximately seven clicks west of your position, original message sent 643 Zulu. Good Luck._"

The colonel considered this for a moment. "We talk'n a meteorite….an asteroid?"

"We don't know yet, sir." His superior nodded and he rose from his desk. The two walked back into the control room, where a buzz of excitement and talk had broken out. The C.O. walked up behind another comm. Officer.

"Status."

"Sir the anomaly will breach our atmosphere in just under three minutes."

"Colonel," said another officer. "NASA confirms it's neither a meteorite nor an asteroid." He handed the colonel a series of photos. "These are solar images taken from the Hubble ten minutes ago." The colonel held them up and stared at them in wonder. "They show the object is elliptical in shape and roughly the same size as a Volkswagen beetle."

His superior looked away from the photos and at him with a serious grimace. "Then it's a craft of some sort."

"Chief of Staff of the Air Force just got off the phone with the President; orders are to commence recovery as soon as touchdown is confirmed." The officer received a nod and he returned to his post. The colonel let the photos rest in the folder they came in and set it off to the side.

"Anomaly has entered the atmosphere," announced the officer, staring into his screen. They all gathered around him as he spoke. "Bogey is falling, dropping below normal radar coverage….." He paused. The object's tail would have long disappeared as soon as it entered the atmosphere. He followed its path on his screen. "Falling…….falling…falling………..anomaly is down." From across the room the comm. Officer held a phone to his head and looked over at the colonel.

"Confirm, bogey is down, 6.3 clicks west."

"What about our neighbors?" asked the C.O.

"This time of year both Russian and Chinese satellites are on the dark side of the moon. We're sure the anomaly passed on the other side and therefore remained invisible to anyone but us."

The colonel nodded and quickly turned to a group of Marines. "Alright, I assume you know of the President's order." A few of them nodded.

"Bring that thing back here ASAP, but I want you all to take every hazmat precaution. There's no telling what kind of energy that bit of space junk brought wit hit. Is that understood?"

"Yes Sir," they chorused.

"Alright, get to it." One after the other, the marines filed out.

--

Not long after they departed, the Marines, accompanied by several other recovery personnel arrived at the crash site. As per their C.O.'s orders, they were dressed head to toe in full hazmat gear. The brigade of trucks stopped about a hundred feet from a still smoking crater. Like a small army closing in on a would be enemy, the platoon and a host of scientists approached the crater. A few of them led the way with measuring devices, scanning for any amount of radiation. Their instruments gave off a series of rapid clicks as they drew nearer.

"Well doc, is this thing safe to move or what?" The lead marine asked. His voice was echoed from being inside his hazmat suit.

"There is some amount of residual radiation, but it's unlike any I've ever seen before." The scientist carefully stepped down into the crater to get a closer look at its occupant. "It's still unclear as to whether or not it's deadly….." His mouth gradually opened as his closer inspection showed him the object's surface. There was a strong breeze, and every time it blew it appeared to make ripples on the object's outer surface…..almost as though it was made of liquid.

"Doc?"

He snapped out of it. "Oh yes, it's some sort mimetic alloy." Looking down he noticed bits of it were beginning to drip down into a puddle. "And it doesn't look as though it's going to stay that way for long."

"Can it be moved?"

He nodded. "Yes, I believe so."

"Alright, well let's not waste any more time. Load it up!" He called. Like a well oiled machine, the team backed two large trucks bearing cranes and began attaching a harness around the object.

* * *

BACK IN WASHINGTON………………

Richard stared deeply into the eyes of the girl pictured in an 8x10 photo. He moved the ring Logan had brought back in his fingers, as though he might gain insight just by holding it. Kory and Shannon had returned from the mall with their arms full of material. They carried with them DVD's containing surveillance footage, statements from anyone they could come across, and information on the girl herself. Naturally when they handed all of this to Richard he returned it with a quick and rushed "nice".

"Her name is, or….was, Emily Regan. Twenty-two years old and a sophomore at Howard University," said Shannon as she read off the girl's profile. "Majored in mathematics and for extra circular activates she was addicted to gymnastics and tumbling."

"It would account for her unusual agility," said Kory. She furrowed her brow in perplexity. "But….friend Logan has reported that the apparatus she carried would have added twenty extra pounds to her person, so-"

"How did she jump around like that?" finished Shannon. She looked over at their team leader and cleared her throat. "I know it's probably out of season but are you going to contribute anything?"

"I'm still working on my first ever question," said Richard dryly. "Twenty-two year old college student blows herself up…….what-up-with-that?" The two girls glanced at one another. "Why did she do that?"

Shannon shrugged. "Hezbollah?"

"You're jumping right to 'terrorist? You and I need to see Harold and Kumar."

"It says here that she had no passport," said Kory as she read from another page. "Without such a document I doubt she would have been able to travel overseas."

Richard shifted his eyes about. "Can't argue with that." He stood up, trying to relieve the pain in his leg by walking about. "Besides, kids today may rebel against 'the man' but they're not soon to go blowing up bystanders…..unless they're particularly annoying."

"Perhaps she did not participate willingly," suggested Kory.

"You're thinking she was coerced in some way," said Shannon.

"Wouldn't be the first time we've seen it," said Richard. "What about parents?"

Shannon checked the file again. "Emily's an adopted orphan; her legal guardians are Oliver and Martha Regan. Says here they have a home in upstate New York."

"Anyone feel like taking a road trip?" asked Richard.

"What about friend Rachael?" asked Kory. "Should we not invite her as well?"

"She's busy, classes to teach…Victors to keep company. We'll be doing her a favor by staying out of her way. Take what files and info we need, let's get going."

--, NEW YORK--

Kory placed a steaming cup of tea into the shaking hand of Martha Regan. Her husband sat close by her with an arm draped around her shoulders. She sent a kindly awkward smile up at Kory.

"Thank you, its….not often I get served tea in my own home by a complete stranger."

Kory giggled. "Well, admittedly I have found the activity to be most enjoyable."

"We understand this is very difficult for both of you," said Shannon. "But whatever you could tell us would be helpful." The adoptive father, Oliver, merely shrugged.

"Honestly, we don't know what to say. Emily's never said or done anything to make us think she would or could ever do something like this," he said somberly.

"Then you didn't know her as well as you thought you did," said Richard. "Kind of a fallout of not actually giving birth to her."

"She lived with us for over fifteen years," replied Oliver tersely. "We knew her well enough."

"Oh really?!" snapped Richard, coming closer. Kory moved to intercept him but second guessed herself. While she did not approve of his brusque methodology, it did have the benefit of focusing priorities. "You've snooped under her bed, been through her dresser, read her diary? How can you honestly say you knew what was going on in her head?"

"How can you say something like that?!" pleaded Emily's mother. "We know because we were her parents. What does it really matter that I didn't give birth to her? Prior to our adopting Emily, Oliver and I had been trying for over two years; even in-vitro didn't take-"

"Yeah okay, that really doesn't matter right now," interrupted Richard.

Oliver eyed Richard oddly. "As I understand it, she was surrounded by security and one of your own. Are you telling me that no one tried to do anything to stop her?" Richard shrugged and sputtered a chuckle.

"Well I'm sure they would have told her to pull herself together, but that would've taken awhile." Martha's mouth fell open. Shannon slowly twisted around and sent Richard a look of utter amazement.

She softly mouthed, 'Oh-my-God'. Oliver stood up and began looking dangerous.

"I want you to get out, now."

"It's just my way of asking if you really want us to catch the bad guys or not. I know she wasn't insane, not because you believe you know everything about her. I always assume the illogical, none of this adds up in any way. Now, would you like me to find out who's responsible for this…….or should I go home and pop in a few seasons of MASH?"

Martha turned to Kory. "Is he always like this?"

"Worse….at times," replied Kory coyly. Shannon felt it was best not to add her two cents about Richard. "But he is rarely wrong, and the smallest detail may be of great assistance. Did she have any friends?"

"S-Several," replied Martha. "In fact, she was a member of one of their more prestigious sororities. There was a Parent's Day coming-I have the invitation here somewhere….." Her voice trailed off as she disappeared into the kitchen. Oliver placed his hands in his pockets and sighed.

"I can't imagine anything at school had something to do with this. All we ever heard were stories about excellent grades, awards, extra circulars……I never would have seen this coming."

"That's normally how it is," said Richard. Martha returned to the living room clutching a white envelope. She handed to Richard and sat back from a feeling weak at the knees. Kory took his cane from him and Richard pulled out the card and read aloud;

"_It's that time of year again……you are graciously invited to attend an open house at our esteemed society known as Geisha House._"

"What?!" exclaimed Shannon. All eyes snapped to her and she held her tongue before another word could escape. Richard eyed her with mirthful curiosity. Still watching her, Richard stowed the invitation and retrieved his cane from Kory.

"Rigghhhht. Let's go." The two hesitated as Richard began walking out. The two mourning parents gaped at him quizzically.

"T-That's it?" sputtered Oliver. Richard looked back at him and shrugged.

"Pretty much, at least for now."

"Wait! You will tell us if you find out anything, right?" asked Martha.

Without turning back Richard muttered, "Oh yeah, you will definitely hear from me." The task of thanking the parents for their time fell to Kory, after which she quickly joined Richard and Shannon outside. The Regans failed to notice that as Kory left the house she hovered slightly off the ground in order to catch up. When they finally reached the car Shannon began to enter the driver's side.

"Oh no, Kory's turn."

Kory darted an opened mouth stare between him and Shannon. "But….I still have not yet mastered this vehicle."

"Best way to learn is to do; it's not that hard Kory. And as the saying goes 'if Logan can do it, so can you'." Nervously, Kory took Shannon place beside Richard. She sat utterly motionless for a full ten seconds. "You're going to be fine," assured Richard. The red head nodded, started the car, and started off. Trouble is she shifted into reverse and instead of rolling forward, the car jerked backward into the Regans' mailbox. Richard pressed his face against the window in order to see. Kory barred her teeth with the realization that something unwanted had happened.

"Just go," said Shannon.

"Yeah do that," agreed Richard. Before they could be discovered, Kory took them down the road and out of sight. After a short silence Shannon spoke up.

"We're going to have visit that sorority aren't we?"

"Yes indeed," said Richard. "And you're going in particular."

"What?! Why?"  
"You were one of them weren't you?" Kory quickly glanced at Shannon in her mirror. The former secret service agent folded her arms in defeat.

"It was my outburst back when you read the name, wasn't it?"

"Among other things," said Richard.

"It's complicated," she said.

Richard rested his head back against the seat. "Well, we've got a four hour drive ahead of us, un-complicate it."

* * *

The last few nights had become restless for Kory. Sure, she had nightmares before. It was not exactly easy to forget images of her home being besieged and her guardian being surrounded as she was dragged away. Yet with Rachael's help Kory found that she was able to cope. However something else was bothering her this night, beginning with the most innocent of charms.

_Koriand'r, no older than six, played on the floor with toys native to her home world. Her hair was just past her shoulders and it was only now beginning to take on its vibrant shine._

_"Psst! Sister…" Koriand'r turned her head upward and there, hovering above her, was another young girl. Her hair was a stunning black and her eyes a dark shade of purple._

_"Komand'r?" asked a puzzled Koriand'r. "Sister, why are you out of your room?"_

_Komand'r giggled and landed beside her sister. "I hate it in there, come on-let's leave. Let's have some real fun." Koriand'r looked away uneasily._

_"But….you have been confined to your quarters. Galfore would be very angr-"_

_"What Galfore does not know….." She sat before Koriand'r and stared directly into her eyes. "….Will not anger him." She said so in an increasingly tempting tone of voice. The pull to go with her sister was getting and harder to resist._

_"I am unsure…."_

_"Oh sister, you do not really wish to penned within your own room do you?" Koriand'r turned a cross expression onto Komand'r._

_"I am not the one who is in trouble; I am here because I wish to be." Komand'r turned away from her sister. Koriand'r sighed. "But, I would like you stay to with me, Koma." The dark haired girl was unresponsive. "Please sister, please do not be angry."_

_"Will you come with me?" asked Komand'r. It was a sad and pathetic tone, one which she knew her younger sister could not defy. Koriand'r's young and fearful eyes looked to the door and thought of the guard keeping careful watch outside._

_"We will…..not be caught?"_

_Komand'r stretched out her hand and smiled. "I promise." With yet another moment of hesitation Koriand'r took her sister's hand and allowed herself to be led out of her open window._

_Kory opened her eyes and found herself back in her bed on earth. She found it strange that she simply opened her eyes, with no memory of what had just transpired within her slumbering mind._

_"Koriand'r…." She gasped. "Koriand'r………." A voice softly droned her name. She rose from under her covers and stepped out of her room. The hallway, normally laden with several doors, was bare but for one door at the end of the hall. "Koriand'r…" Her heart thumped within her chest unceasingly. The walk toward the single door looked like it might take hours, yet within moments she was stopped just before it. It was cracked open and she noticed there was a dim stream of light at the bottom. "Koriand'r……" She placed her hand on the wood barrier and pushed. Inside was the bathroom, looking as normal to her as ever. Yet the mirror was not only showing her reflection but also a dense billowing cloud behind her. The alien moved closer to it, trying to see past herself and at the dark fog. Soon Kory began to see something. It looked like a pair of eyes, similar to her own, was coming into focus. _

_"Koriand'r…………………don't tell me you don't REMEMBER ME!!" The eyes she was watching suddenly shown with a terrible brilliance and her vision was blinded by purple light._

--

"Kory! KORY!" Kory's widened and glassy eyes fluttered and when she finally awoke she found that she was in Richard's arm and that she was shaking all over. Her eyes darted in every direction, they were in the bathroom. "Kory?"

"W-W-Where am I?"

"You're here with me, in the bathroom." He eased her down to the floor. "I came in for Tums and found just staring at yourself in the mirror. I asked what you were doing but didn't say anything. Then all of a sudden you launched yourself back with a scream and….you know the rest-" She surprised him yet again that night by suddenly tightly wrapping herself up in his embrace. He wound his other arm around her. "Alright…come on." Somehow Richard managed to bring them both to their feet and he took her back to her room, not knowing if he would permitted to leave any time soon.

* * *

THE NEXT DAY……………

Kory sat before Rachael in the therapist's comfortably sun lit office. "Kory, you know you don't have to say anything right now, right?"

"I know, but I just did not know what to make of it," she replied. Rachael nodded.

"It's called somnambulism." Kory arched a brow. "Oh sorry, uhh..sleepwalking." Kory seemed even more confused by Rachael's explanation.

"Sleep….walking?"

"Yes it's actually quite common. Someone who is severely affected, after they fall asleep; they get up and go about doing all sorts of things. They go driving, call people, cook entire meals; I had one patient who got all her spring cleaning done one night. When they wake up they have no memory of what they did."

"I remember every detail," said Kory. "It is clear that is not what happened to me."

"No I think it is," said Rachael. She scooted closer to Kory. "You said you got the feeling that you were being watched, right?" Kory now began to wish she had said nothing.

"It was only a feeling."

"Who was it?" asked Rachael regardless. "Who do you think was watching you?"

Kory answered with barely a whisper. "My sister." Rachael was taken aback. Kory had never once mentioned that she had a sister. The dark haired shrink moved back slightly.

"Your sister?"

"Yes."

"Are you both twins?" Kory nodded. A strange and wondrous thought then occurred to Rachael. "Kory, it's been theorized that identical twins share a bond of some sort. There are those, albeit less respected, who believe the bond could even be cosmic and stretch over extreme distances."

"I have never felt this way before though," said Kory. "I wish I knew what it meant."

"Well Kory, a lot of people have been working for a long time trying to decipher dreams. But maybe what you experienced wasn't a dream at all." Kory now looked at Rachael intently.

"What then could it have been?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure we'll find out." As always, Kory appreciated any help that Rachael could offer her. Truthfully, she had come to rely greatly on her ever since she came to earth. Without a doubt Richard was the one who mainly tutored her in Terran culture, however there were times when he could not and Rachael was always there to help. And yet, despite Rachael's best efforts, Kory could not get rid of the feeling that someone was watching her, or worse…….here with her on earth.

* * *

AFGHANISTAN…………………

Deep below the surface of the, an elevator came to a halt and a young man stepped off, accompanied by two airmen. They brought him to an officer who was waiting for him at the end of the hall, where stood a security checkpoint. He held out his hand and shook the young man's.

"Dr. Bell, welcome to Daedalus Base. I'm Lt. Colonel Davis."

"Thank you Sir," said Bell. He had a natural Australian accent. "They weren't all that forthcoming back at Peterson, can you tell me why I'm here."

"Not just yet sir." The Lt. Colonel then produced a packet and a pen. "Before you can go any further you're required to sign a nondisclosure agreement; wherein it also stipulates that for the duration of your stay here your mail ingoing and outgoing will be screened, you will be required to undergo radiation tests twice a day without fail, you're quarters will be subject to random inspections, and disclosure of anything regarding this facility or your work here will be considered an act of treason. If you agree to these terms please sign your name, and we can proceed."

Bell moved his eyes between Davis and the packet in his hands. "So, you won't tell me why I'm here unless I sign that?"

"I'm afraid that's correct sir," replied Davis as politely as possible. "Your only other choice is to return to the Pentagon."

"Well," said Bell with a nervous smile. He took the packet and began signing his name. "Must be…pretty important to merit all this security." He handed the agreement, as well as, for all intents and purposes, his life, to Davis.

"Please follow me." He led the curious scientist down the hall and around the corner to a conference room; inside waited a bald man with many many decorations on his uniform. "Dr. Malcolm Bell, Major General George Hammond."

"It's an honor to meet you, sir," said Bell.

"Thank you, I'm glad to meet you too," replied the General. "What I'm about to tell you has been declared classified at the highest level." Bell nodded. "Approximately thirty-two hours ago, an unidentified object crashed landed about six miles from this facility."

"Crash landed," repeated Bell. "You mean to say…..extraterrestrial?"

"At the moment Dr. we're not sure what to believe. Despite the stories and rumors over the years, the United States government has never encountered anything from an alien world. For the moment we're classifying this assignment as 'Project Chimera'."

"Well I haven't either, why did you ask for me?"

"Your dossier says that for the past five years you've been heading up the Pentagon's RND department, that correct?" Bell nodded.

"Uhh….yes sir."

"It wasn't just that; your knowledge in the fields of astrophysics, spatial anomalies, and theoretical elements made you jump off the page." Bell tried not to glow humbly. "The object is composed of a material we have yet to identify and we were hoping that you and our lead researcher could give us some insight."

Bell looked about curiously. "Uhh, lead researcher?"

"Yes I…" General Hammond paused as he saw the aforementioned scientist entering the room. "Dr. Bell, I'd like to introduce you to Professor Chang." Bell turned to come face to face with a far middle aged Asian man.

"Ahhh, my new lab assistant."

"Your what?" said Bell.

"Dr. Bell is here to assist in Chimera," said Hammond. "I trust you'll show him the same respect and courtesy you've shown me and the rest of the base personnel." Chang studied Bell for a moment then sent the General an odd grin.

"Of course."

"General Hammond nodded definitively. "Good, get to work." He and his advisors left the two alone. Bell wanted nothing more than be in a completely separate room from Chang.

"So," said Chang through a hiss. "What do you think of our little hole in the ground?"

Bell shifted himself nervously. "It's….fine."

"Yes, indeed. Well I suppose your just itching to see what I have been slaving over the past two days."

'Only two', Bell thought. The two of them rode yet another lift down to a containment area where the so called 'craft' was held. Bell forgot about his awkward feelings the moment he laid eyes on it. Its outer surface shimmered and rippled like water.

"Wow…." He began to take a step toward the chamber but stopped. "Radiation?"

"We've detected only minimal amounts, the effects of which are negligible." Bell took off in a trot and entered the chamber; which itself was quite large, being the size of a small house. Once he was inside he slowly walked up to the egg shaped craft and marveled at it. Chang slowly approached behind him.

"Magnificent, isn't it?"

Bell resisted the urge to reach out and touch it. "How are you able to keep it intact like this?"

"Concentrated electromagnetic fields keep the craft's mimetic alloy from loosing cohesion; however it is a struggling effort. If the power were to fail within this chamber, it would begin to collapse within minutes."

"That's remarkable," whispered Bell as he held his glasses out toward the surface of the craft. "Have you been able to see inside it?"

"We haven't tried yet," said Chang with a slight huff. "So far our efforts have been concentrated on naming the alloy."

"I'm not sure it can be," said Bell finally turning away from the craft. "…At least not with any charts or the periodic table. If it is extraterrestrial then we're not likely to find a match with any elements found here on earth." Chang placed a pensive finger beneath his chin. "Our best bet will be to compare it to what we do have and hopefully draw a conclusion from that." He hopped down off the platform. "Besides, I'm more interested in to who is in there." They left the chamber and the lights dimmed but remained on, a low hum indicated that power was indeed still running.

Within the craft, suspended in metabolic stasis, a slender hand twitched and almost sprang to life.

* * *

Oh be still my adrenaline. Who could it be inside our space egg? I bet you guys only need one guess, I would hope so. The Air force base is completely made up; I couldn't find an actual spot to use. Also, fans of Stargate SG-1 will recognize **Major General George Hammond**. The reason for this is, I recently found out that Don S. Davis, the actor who portrayed Hammond, has passed away due to a….I think it was a heart attack. Anyway, the man was loved profoundly by all who knew him and he was such a great actor. So this was my way of giving a nod to him and the good work he did.

Back again with more of this mystery/sci-fi soon. Later Folks!


	3. Geisha House

This took some time getting done, I apologize. But I was forced to once again save the world! Of course he was……….okay, craziness is over. I am, as always, extremely grateful to those who have reviewed, namely; **Cartoonfire, Korgeta, Kilpe the lazy man, True-Blackfire, Tefren, Tennisgal456, Crimson Black, Gepsman, The Joker, Arkham Boy, Skyler-A-Teloiv, xStarfirexRobinxo**. On with the story!

* * *

Chapter Three

Geisha House

Bell and Chang both left the chamber and the lights dimmed but remained on, a low hum indicated that power was indeed still running.

Within the craft, suspended in metabolic stasis, a slender hand twitched and almost sprang to life.

* * *

Despite Kory's unceasing offers to fly them to their destination, Richard insisted that two people flying through the air was not what one would call inconspicuous. They rode in Richard's car down a familiar street. He glanced at her downtrodden face as she stared out the window.

"I'm sorry; I keep forgetting how much you enjoy it."

"Well, I should remember that your people do not routinely fly without the aid of technology," replied Kory. "Still it would be nice if we could-"

"Tell you what," said Richard. "This weekend, because we're kind of busy right now, what with murders and all, I will take you to a pond that's down this path I know of in the woods." Kory drew her eyes away from the outside world and to Richard. They showed with keen interest. "There's supposed to be a full moon soon, I promise we'll fly until you hate it."

"Richard, you do promise?!" She asked happily.

He smirked. "Isn't that what I just said?" She playfully beat him off the arm. Despite her best efforts to mind her strength Richard still held in a painful yelp. Her posture was now quite jubilant and excited; in fact she couldn't help but bounce slightly in her seat.

"Could we also….bring a prepared meal?"

"Ahhhh, you wanna do this picnic style huh?" Kory nodded with a wide smile. "We can do that, I suppose. Oh there it is…" They reached the end of a long driveway and there stood Richard's home, rebuilt and looking better than ever. He stopped the car and they stepped out. He cocked his head up at the sight of it. "Hmm, you never would guess that it was once under alien attack."

"It is a glorious sight," hummed Kory. "As friend Logan has explained to me, I now get dibbs that are fist for my room!"

"Yea-wait-What?!" She giggled mischievously and flew up into an open window on the second floor. "Okay, that flying thing is seriously unfair," Richard mumbled to himself. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed an old man walking up a path out of the forest. Richard recognized him as his curmudgeon trigger happy neighbor. "Woods," said Richard. The old man nodded his head. "Why you look good enough to shoot, how's the dog?"

"Dead." He walked on without another word to Richard. The FBI agent laughed to himself, not missing the viscous pit-bull in the slightest. He let his cane lead the way into his newly rebuilt home. As soon as he entered the all too familiar smell of a new home wandered into his nose. He heard Kory's voice echo through the halls.

"It is a wonder they were able to rebuild it so quickly." Richard stepped up for a closer look on a door hinge, where was stamped the lettering; _Gotham Con., Wayne int._. He smiled and nodded.

"Well, when you know people."

Richard soon found out where Kory had called from. He made his way into his former now reacquired room and saw Kory was neatly arranging her clothes into the closet and one of the dressers in the corner. Her moved his eyes over her various piles of stuff and cleared his throat. She looked up and waved at him.

"Oh, hello."

"Hiiii," replied Richard. "What are you doing?"

"I am settling within my quarters," said Kory, as though Richard's question was painfully obvious.

"Uh huh, that's…that's cute. Look Kory, I'm not sure if you remember, but this was my room." She pushed a dresser draw shut and turned to him with a smile.

"I remember, you are welcome to continue using it." He sat down on the bed.

"You wanna move **move** in with me." Kory blushed something fierce and glided over the bed until she could land beside him. She wanted to lean against Richard, thus Kory deliberately left no space between them. Her hands cloistered one of his. Richard let his defenses fall, and there were quite a few. He gently held up against her full weight on him. She stared at him quite earnestly.

"Yes…" For all of Richard's posturing and self-accolades to the fact that he was untouchable, he now felt powerless. It was the same pleasurable weakness that he felt whenever he was near Barbara. He smiled and held her tighter with an arm draped over her shoulder.

"Sounds good." She let her eyes fall and Kory yawned like a child having just protested to being tired in the first place. The heat in the room and the lighting was just right and caused noticeable drowsiness. She slunk down onto a pillow and drifted off. Richard watched her for a moment, the one who had saved his life……even from himself. Without warning he began to feel his phone vibrating his coat pocket. He carefully sat up off the bed and stepped out of 'their' room. He had received a text message from 'The Man', aka Bruce. It was a concise straight to the point message which read;

_Arcturus is ready, get his permission._

"Okay Victor."

"Richard?" He turned. Kory had woken back up from her short lived sleep. Her face held concern. "Is there news on friend Victor?" Richard stowed away his phone.

"Yes."

"Is he recovering?"

"I don't know, that's not the answer I've been waiting for though. Mr. Wayne has people who have been working on something pretty amazing. According to Bruce, it's up and running."

"And it can save friend Victor?" asked Kory. Richard sighed.

"I hope so."

* * *

THE NEXT DAY………………..

Just as Richard had said, and Shannon had dreaded, the team traveled to Howard University and specifically to visit the sorority known as Geisha House. Rachael accompanied them this time, at Richard's suggestion but more surreptitiously because of Shannon's insistence. The college campus was a buzz of activity; throngs of students walking, talking, jogging alone or in groups, sitting in groups of study or laziness, as well as a brigade of bicycles parked outside the various buildings. Shannon stood a fair distance away from a moderately sized house bearing the Geisha crest. Compared to several other houses nearby, Geisha House was quite the poster for picture perfect; its lawn was neatly kept, there was no trash on the large porch, there was even gazebo in the backyard. Shannon lowered her head with a dreaded sigh.

"Oh God, do I really have to do this?"

"**Yes Shannon you do**." Shannon perked her head back up and looked to her right. Richard spoke through a rolled up magazine, magnifying his voice to another volume. He lightly beat it off her forehead. "Don't worry; I won't let the other children make fun of you. Come on." With massive reluctance Shannon walked alongside Richard. She was eager to keep her mind from have to concentrate on why they were actually there.

"Where are Kory and Rachael?"

"Other side of the campus, they're asking subtle questions about your old pals."

"I wouldn't call them 'pals'," muttered Shannon. Richard snorted.

"Okay, please tell me…what is exactly that they did to earn this kind of spite?"

Shannon paused. "It's not what they did; it's what they wanted **me** to do." Richard nodded; he got the feeling that Shannon's response was purposefully enigmatic. Maybe she was actually hoping he would do what he normally does and figure it out on his own. The two of them walked up the steps of the picturesque house and knocked on the door. Inside they could hear a flurry of activity, thus their knock went completely unnoticed to the occupants. Shannon shook her head and instead rang the doorbell. One set of footsteps walking past the door stopped then changed course. Not a second later, latches were undone and the door was open. Before them was a young, probably a freshmen, brunette. She was a sight to behold though; her face bore white powder and she wore a dress of Japanese design. Her full getup was not quite finished but all the key details were there.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"I'm Special Agent Richard Grayson, this is Special Agent-"

"Shannon Chan!" the girl exclaimed excitedly. Richard stared oddly at Shannon; she however seemed just as surprised by the girl's greeting. "Oh wow, please come in I-I'll get Mama San." They stepped inside; Richard closed the door behind while Shannon looked about the house. The inside was just as immaculate as the outside. The furniture was highly ornamental with many Japanese themes scattered throughout.

Richard stepped up beside Shannon. "Thought you didn't like these people."

"I don't," replied Shannon.

"People only get tripped up like that over celebrities; she seemed to be a fan of yours."

"I can't imagine why," said Shannon shrugging. "We didn't exactly part on friendly terms." All around them dozens of girls darted from room to room; some of them dressed in Geisha garbs while others followed closely behind with a comb. From the kitchen a senior emerged holding a clip board and followed closely by the girl who had greeted them at the door.

"Hi," said the senior. "I'm Mama-San Marika, this is Martha-San," she said gesturing to the freshmen at her side. "What can I do for you?"

"Is there someplace quiet we can go?" asked Richard.

"Of course, this way please." Shannon glanced back at Martha, the young freshmen giggled and disappeared down the hall. Shannon then skipped ahead to catch up to Richard and Marika. "I hope you'll forgive the commotion, we're setting up for our dress rehearsal."

"Rehearsal for what?" asked Richard.

"It's for their-" Shannon's voice dropped as she was forced to move for an oncoming Geisha. "…Their bimonthly show in Vegas."

"Not bad Shannon, I'm glad to see you still remember," said Marika brightly. "Anyway we've been getting ready for two weeks now and we're finally going to see if we're ready yet again. We don't sell our services privately like in the good ol' days of Japan but we do enjoy preserving their arts and disciplines."

"Quite a few girls for one show," said Richard. Marika chuckled.

"Oh please, only a few girls you've seen so far are part of our sisterhood. The others are merely here to lend a hand with setting up. They're always pinning for a look inside that we felt generous this time around."

"Still got that high and mighty air I see," mumbled Shannon.

Marika seemed not to hear her. "They all think that with the right clothes and makeup they can be just like us, but fancy clothes and spiffy makeup alone a Geisha do not make," she said in a perky singsong voice.

"Yeah, this is all really great but can we just talk now," said Richard. Marika looked a bit miffed. She opened a sliding door to reveal a sewing room, where one of their own slaved over a rack of intricate dresses.

"Could you give us a moment?" Marika asked the young seamstress. She gave Marika and their guests a short curtsey and left them alone. "Okay Agent Grayson, what's this about?"

"Do you know Emily Regan?"

"Emily-Regan, no….no I can't say that I have." Richard nodded at Shannon whereupon she drew a photo of the deceased.

"What about now?" Marika took the photo and her mouth fell open.

"Oh, that's…that's Mary." Shannon and Richard exchanged looks.

"Mary?" repeated Richard. "Her adoptive parents seemed to have forgotten what her name was." Marika waved her hand dismissively.

"Mary was her 'Geisha' name." Shannon folded her arms and looked away disdainfully. Richard arched a brow. "When one is accepted into this house they take up a new name, is symbolizes the bond we would now share."

"Uh huh."

"I'm afraid Mary is away right now, visiting family I think. But she should be back tomorrow-"

"She blew herself up," said Richard flatly. Marika frowned. "She ran amok in a mall and once she had a good number of onlookers she detonated a set of pipe bombs which she wore under her clothes."

"No that can't be true; it doesn't sound like Mary at all."

"She was identified by witnesses, surveillance footage, and her parents," said Shannon. Richard's hand disappeared into his pocket and drew the half melted class ring. As soon as he showed it to Marika he could see it dawning on her. She took the ring from him.

Richard gestured to her right hand. "Its identical to the one you're wearing, isn't it?"

"Y-Yes…" shaking, she handed it back to Richard. "Why would she do something like that?"

"We were hoping **you** could enlighten us," said Richard.

Marika threw her arms up. "I have no idea; she was the best example we had for our sisterhood. Mary had a 4.0 GPA, she heavily involved in sports and school spirit……." Her voice faltered. "I just can't imagine how this could've happened."

"Do you mind if we talk to some of the other girls?" asked Shannon.

"By all means," said Marika.

--

Shannon paced herself up the second floor as a set of stairs was not something that normally agreed with Richard. She waited at the top for him to catch up, she stood with her arms folded and an exasperated look.

"I just..," she dropped her voice to a whisper. "I just wish they would drop this pretext, we we're not friends."

"Shannon, I don't particularly care about that part," said Richard as he finally reached her level. "I wanted to see how they would react after seeing a long lost friend. It doesn't matter what either of you have to say about the past, presently…..they have nothing but good things to say about you."

"Yeah." Richard stopped at the first room he came across. He motioned for Shannon to announce their presence and she knocked before opening the door. The occupant nearly jumped out of her skin with a frightful squeal. She quickly moved to cover something she had near the window.

"Sorry for the intrusion," said Shannon. "Martha?" Indeed the room they had chosen was that of their greeter from earlier.

"Shannon, no please, I am sorry. I was afraid it was Mama-San or one of the other Geishas."

"Why is that?" asked Richard. Martha was extremely hesitant. Shannon's eyes actually narrowed for a moment.

"What were you doing in here?" Martha's eyes fearfully shot to Shannon.

"Will you promise not to tell the others?"

"Yeah yeah sure," said Richard. "**You're** not making a bomb are you?" Martha's face grew cross.

"Of course not." She uncovered her project and they saw a small pot on a travel stove. Within was a warm collection of melted chocolate. Shannon's eyes widened at the sight.

"You're making chocolate?"

"Mm hmm," replied Martha with a grin.

"Well I can see how that would anger someone," said Richard. "How can you dare bring non-fat sweet stuff into Cheerleader House?"

"We're not allowed to pursue frivolities not aspired to by traditional Geishas," said Martha. "As much as I want to stay dedicated to the rules as everyone else…….well I just couldn't resist. Not even my roommate, Matilda, knows." Apparently Shannon couldn't resist either, for she had been inching toward the pot ever so slowly. Martha spotted her movements and couldn't help but grin. "Oh, would you like a sample?" Richard rolled his eyes. Martha brought forth a plastic container filled with truffles.

"Oh well, don't mind if I do," chuckled Shannon. "She took one of the chocolates and upon putting it in her mouth was met with a blend of sweet and slightly spicy. It confused her for a moment then a fascinated and satisfied smile crept across her face.

"Wow….."

"I got the idea from Aztec hot chocolate; they would mix chili powder with their cocoa. I did the same on a slightly smaller scale."

"It's absolutely delicious."

"Thank you."

"Did Emily say anything to you before she left?" asked Richard. Martha cocked her head at him strangely. He almost rolled his eyes again. "I mean, Mary."

"Oh, right. If you're asking me if she said anything out of the ordinary then, no, she didn't."

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"Last month, right after our show in Vegas. One of the reasons we look forward to it so much is we get to visit with our most revered Mama San, Moira Yen-Mah." Richard arched a brow.

"Who is this?" Martha reached into a desk by her bed and drew a pamphlet. She handed it to Shannon and both she and Richard examined the cover. It advertised a magical performance given by;

"Moira the Enchantress?" read Shannon. Richard looked at her expectedly. "I've never heard of her."

Martha was happy to explain. "She came after your time, as an exchange student." Richard then noticed that an almost dreamy expression washed over her eyes. "Her shows are sooo wonderful."

"She's a magician, right," said Richard. Martha blinked a few times.

"Y-Yes, yes she is. One of the best-no….**the** best."

--

Shannon waved behind her as she and Richard descended the stairs from Geisha House. Richard swallowed two of his pain pills and cleared his throat before asking Shannon;

"I can see why you left, now was it just me or did all their names-"

"Start with 'M'? No I managed to pick up on that," said Shannon. "A lot of things around here seem to be new, because I never had to change my name. I can't imagine why any one of them would have to."

Richard shrugged and handed Shannon the brochure. "Maybe she can tell us." Shannon gazed down at the ad, Moira arms were crossed and in each hand she held a rose and a Queen of diamonds playing card. Her eyes stared ahead as though attempting to cast a spell upon the viewer.

"I wasn't the only one who left the Geishas unhappily; I think I know where to find her."

--

Kory and Rachael walked out of the student center. Unfortunately not many people had much to say about poor Emily. Many of them were slightly reluctant to say anything without any amount of gentle coaxing; perhaps it was the thought of Emily actually committing insane suicide. There were dozens of posters scattered throughout the campus with Emily's picture, making people aware of the fact that one of their own was now gone.

"She seems to have had many friends," observed Kory.

"I honestly can't see how Richard can deal with something like this," said Rachael. "This girl had everything here; like you said, friends, a good job, stellar grades, and a place in one of the campus' best clubs……its mind boggling."

Kory nodded. "Truly." There was a short pause as they walked, during which time Rachael attempted to strike up a new subject.

"Have you had any more of the dreams you told me about?"

"Indeed I have," replied Kory. "Each and every time they depict my sister, and I can never discern whether or not she is angry with me. I wake with a start and always temporarily forgetting where I am. Fortunately I have so far done so without disturbing Richard."

Rachael nodded in agreement. "Yes that is a plu-wait!" Her voice faltered. They stopped walking. "Disturb Richard? What do you mean you-…..are you and he sharing a room now?" Kory laced her fingers together.

"Well…" Rachael painted a sympathetic smile on her face.

"Kory its okay I'm……I'm just surprised, that's all." Kory felt relief spread through her.

"I am glad. I was not clear if our association was acceptable by social standards." Rachael chuckled and she began walking with Kory now in tow.

"Don't worry, of course its okay. I'm actually very glad to hear it; it means Richard's taken another important step toward a full recovery." Kory tilted her head at Rachael.

"What step is that?"

"Moving on." They hadn't gone far when a shrill voice startled them both.

"Oh Hello!" Turing in place they saw a young woman wearing a school uniform. "Are you having a good day?"

Kory could not help but return the warm greeting. "Indeed I am. Please, who are you?"

"I'm Serena, one of the school advisers. How long have you considered Howard University?"

"Oh, I am not attending this institution," said Kory with a waving hand a large smile.

"I see, committed elsewhere huh? Well if you change your mind here's my card, give me a call and we'll talk." She handed Kory a business card and departed to launch another surprise attack.

"You should be more careful." Richard's voice snapped them out of their daze. "You look too much like a student, these people feed off of em'."

"She seemed most jovial," said Kory.

"Learn anything?" asked Rachael.

"Yes, this sorority is ten times weirder then when I left it," said Shannon.

"There's definitely a connection between Emily and that club house," said Richard while staring at it off in the distance. "They're not going to say anything useful though while we're hanging around."

"I believe I viewed something on the television about this scenario," said Kory while she too studied the house. "If we could acquire someone who is willing to live among them for a while, they could pass us information." Richard slowly turned his head at her. She became aware of this fact and did a double take. "What?"

"That…..is a fantastic idea."

"Really?" she asked excitedly.

"You bet, now all you need to do is be willing."

"Me?!" she said gesturing to herself. Rachael and Shannon looked just as surprised. Richard took Kory by the hand and guided her inside and out of sight. Rachael and Shannon followed and actually made sure they had not been seen. Inside, Kory was already protesting. "But-But, I do have the experience……the constitution.." She rang her hands together nervously. "That counselor, Serena, I told her I was not attending."

"Say you changed your mind, or don't say anything. Trust me; people like her have the memory of a goldfish." The alien princess bit her lower lip.

"I suppose the experience would render me further into your planet's culture." Richard smiled confidently and took her shoulder.

"Kory, I know you could do this-" Richard suddenly realized he was being dragged out of earshot by Shannon and Rachael. As soon as they let go of his arms they rounded on him.

"Are you crazy?!" exclaimed Shannon in a hushed tone.

Rachael spoke next. "They make those girls change their names, give up personal interests…..you know exactly what this sounds like and you want to send **Kory** in there?"

"I think she can handle it," maintained Richard.

"She will be putty in their hands!" hissed Shannon. "Things have gotten stranger but I still know these people, you cannot leave Kory alone with them."

"Then we don't leave her alone."

"What are you talking about?" asked Rachael with folded arms.

"You're about to get a notice saying that you're being transferred for a temporary teaching position here." Rachael began to speak. "And Logan will be keeping an eye on you both."

"You know good and well what's going on between me and him," said Rachael darkly. "I don't understand what you're trying to accomplish by making work together."

"He deserves the benefit of the doubt," said Richard. "You don't know what he went through. Take your own 'professional advice' for once and stop thinking of yourself." Richard pushed past them both and returned to Kory. They watched as Kory gradually accepted the job.

"I sure hope he knows what he doing?"

Shannon snickered irritably. "Does he ever?"

* * *

Kory's a go'in undercover! Dun da dun! I know the mysterious 'space egg' wasn't in this chapter but believe me, it's big. Any guesses as to who might be inside. You probably have a good idea already. Until next time. Laters!


	4. Chimera Unbound

Good Lord and all his trusty angels! This sure took a while. I'm sorry if there are a few mistakes here and there but I can't wait any longer. This has to update, and NOW! Plus this chapter and the next one for my other story is a birthday present for a good friend of mine. **Tsukikage1213**, Happy Birthday! Well, technically it was a day or two ago but I was still working on this then. Anyway, wish her well……..THAT'S AN ORDER DAMN IT!! And thanks as always to you gracious reviewers;**xStarfirexoRobinx, Sizzlin'-Starry-Night-Sky, Skyler-A-Teloiv, RoseXxxXThorn, Bella-Rose, Cartoonfire, danielle, Gespman, Tefren, Tennisgal456, Tsukikag1213, Xoroth.**

* * *

Chapter Four

Chimera Unbound

Richard suddenly realized he was being dragged out of earshot by Shannon and Rachael. As soon as they let go of his arms they rounded on him.

"Are you crazy?!" exclaimed Shannon in a hushed tone.

Rachael spoke next. "They make those girls change their names, give up personal interests…..you know exactly what this sounds like and you want to send Kory in there?"

"I think she can handle it," maintained Richard.

"She will be putty in their hands!" hissed Shannon. "Things have gotten stranger but I still know these people, you cannot leave Kory alone with them."

"Then we don't leave her alone."

"What are you talking about?" asked Rachael with folded arms.

"You're about to get a notice saying that you're being transferred for a temporary teaching position here." Rachael began to speak. "And Logan will be keeping an eye on you both."

"You know good and well what's going on between me and him," said Rachael darkly. "I don't understand what you're trying to accomplish by making work together."

"He deserves the benefit of the doubt," said Richard. "You don't know what he went through. Take your own 'professional advice' for once and stop thinking of yourself." Richard pushed past them both and returned to Kory. They watched as Kory gradually accepted the job.

"I sure hope he knows what he doing?"

Shannon snickered irritably. "Does he ever?" Rachael was forced to accept the fact that Kory was in fact going to do this, thus she folded her arms and sighed dejectedly.

"Well, Kory's going to need a transcript." Shannon arched a brow as an idea came to her.

"Got it covered." She drew her cell and dialed their resident computer wiz.

* * *

AGHANISTAN………………..

Dr. Bell sat at a table within the base's mess hall, a despondent frown upon his face. His spoon stirred the now room temperature milk of his cereal. Beside him lay a series of notes he had taken shortly after settling in and beginning his work. His and Chang's efforts to identify the core material of the craft had proved to be futile, even after weeks of tireless work. As Bell had suggested, no where on Earth did anything like the craft's alloy exist. His notes consisted of a series of lines discussing their attempts to now see inside. Without warning, Chang suddenly joined him.

"Evening young one."

"Chang," he replied glumly. Chang began devouring a bowl of steaming noodles. Bell sighed and picked up his notes. "I'm beginning to fear we've just gotten ourselves into a dead circle."

"Many things hardly turn out as expected," said Chang as he slurped up a stray noodle. "Sometimes for the best but more often for the worst, this is one of the principle beauties of science."

"This discovery could prove to be the greatest in human history, are you so willing to admit defeat?"

Chang swallowed and waved his fork about. "Never, but I am willing to take our methods as far as need be. The ethics committee can discuss the means while we reap the benefits." Bell shook his head.

"We need to see inside it."

"Annnnd we have tried everything; portable MRI's, infrared, X-Ray. Nothing has been able to penetrate that skin."

"So we go less advanced," said Bell. Chang did not appear impressed by the suggestion. "Okay that wasn't as poignant as I had hoped but I stand by it. Instead of all that, let's try a simple ultrasound." Chang actually snorted this time. "I'm serious what-" His voice cut off and he moved closer across the table. "What do we really have to loose by trying?"

Chang threw down the remainder of a handful of french fries. "Our funding." He left Bell alone for the remainder of his meal. The Australian scientist couldn't care less about Chang's reactions. To be entirely honest, he felt he could do more without Chang; during the project the aged man had been more hindrance than help. He began to wonder if Chang was the reason General Hammond had requested him to begin with. However that thought was a stroke of pride he rarely allowed himself to indulge. He brushed those thoughts aside, nothing else mattered now. He decided that he didn't need Chang's approval for anything, let alone to proceed with the job of his life. Bell wiped his mouth with a napkin and fast walked back to the lab.

AAAAA

Hours later, Chang saw from an upper viewing room that Bell was indeed proceeding with the ultrasound. He and several other scientists were currently passing over the object. He snickered and took a sip of hot coffee.

"The man seems to think another approach is needed." Chang jumped slightly as General Hammond appeared next to him. After regaining his composure the old scientists merely narrowed his eyes.

"Hmph, an aspiring youngster fishing for a solution that may or may not exist."

"It's the 'may' that myself and the pentagon are interested in doctor, instead of talking to me why don't you go give him a hand?" Chang cracked his neck of some forever present stiffness. The General simply stood watching the procedure while Chang's ego took heavy anti-aircraft fire. With a massive amount of reluctance, Chang set his coffee down and made his way downstairs.

Below in the containment chamber, Bell continued to move his ultrasound over the craft's surface. All around him other researchers measured the radiation being emitted and ensured that it remained within the realm of safety. Chang stepped inside, clipping a radiation badge to his breast pocket.

"I seem to remember giving you some pearls of wisdom regarding this procedure."

"Uh huh," replied Bell. "And I seem to remember that your 'pearls of wisdom' amounted to just laughing at me."

"I am a seasoned military scientist and only thought-"

"Are you here to help?" interjected Bell. He could truly have cared less if Chang was offering his assistance or simply adding another grievance. Bell moved his tiny sonar around a curve then suddenly backpedaled. "I've got something!" They all gathered around Bell and tried to get a look at his small screen. On it, through the grainy black and white resolution, they vaguely saw what looked like an arm. Chang slowly removed his glasses. Bell slowly smiled. "…Sometimes for the best."

* * *

HOWARD UNIVERSITY…………………..

"Well this is a little unexpected," said the councilor who had identified herself as Serena. "I mean, when I was suggesting people attend this school I meant next semester." She sat down at her desk where Kory and Rachael sat before her. Rachael shrugged.

"We're dedicated."

"You understand we still need a transcript and letters of recommendation." Rachael's mouth hung open momentarily, only for lack of said documents. She then felt her phone buzz in her pocket and a small smile returned to her face.

"It should be in your system now." Kory turned a perplexed look to Rachael. Serena turned her attention back to her computer. There was a moment's pause, during which time she checked the status of Kory's transcript. Just as the dark haired therapist had guessed, the counselor's eyes widened slightly.

"Well, someone works quickly." Rachael made a mental note to thank Danielle the next chance she got. It was all Kory could do to keep from fidgeting, the whole operation just made her feel so nervous. The more the counselor looked over the transcript the more impressed she appeared. "This is very impressive."

"I….I do my best," said Kory meekly trying to remain in character.

"She's just being modest," said Rachael.

Serena nodded agreeably. "…Fluent in several languages, all honors and AP courses, majored in International Diplomacy, and-" The last item forced Serena's eyebrows upward. "-And you helped raise money to fund the surgery for a young boy's cochlear implant." Kory had to admit, it did have a nice ring to it. She too would offer friend Danielle many thanks. With a warm smile that nearly infected the counselor, Kory then stood up excitedly.

"Am I then too assume you will accept me?"

"There are a few placement exams that are required for most applicants but……" She protruded her lower lip pensively. "I don't see any reason why someone with scores as stellar as yours wouldn't test out of them." Kory was absolutely ecstatic. In her unbridled jubilance she lifted Rachael from her chair and hugged her tightly.

"Is this not wonderful news?!" Serena gawked at the two of them oddly but still amused. Rachael softly padded Kory's hand and through a slightly oxygen deprived cough asked to be released. Kory returned to her seat as applying her joy not only to her act but also feeling genuinely happy. "When can I begin?"

"Next week, I think would be best," replied Serena. She stole a quick glance at her monitor. "It also says here that you qualified for a number of student grants, more or less it would seem that tuition doesn't stand in your way either." Kory could only shrug happily. "For living quarters we have a number of dorms and sororities available." She drew a brochure out of her desk. "Have you given any thought as to-"

"Geisha House," said Kory….perhaps a little too quickly. Serena paused. Kory nodded as though she had made up her mind a second time. "I would like to stay in Geisha House."

"Ahh, I see." The counselor stowed the forgotten brochure away. She seemed to regard them both with a more mysterious tone. "You certainly fit the bill. I'll need to run it by Marika first, she's the current leader. Just a moment please." With that she stood and excused herself from the office. Once the door clicked shut Kory turned to Rachael.

"How am I doing?"

"Fine, just remember to keep tabs on your portrayal; be eager but not too eager." Kory nodded seriously. "You also realize that while you're in you're going to have to find some way to contact us with any information."

"I do, yes."

"Kory." Rachael grabbed her complete attention by taking her shoulders. "You know you don't have to do this." Kory's deep green eyes wandered away from Rachael. "If Richard was here he would agree…..at some point. It's entirely up to you."

"I know this, yes friend Rachael. But I cannot bear the disrespect of poor Emily's memory were I to do nothing, especially if action is within my power." Rachael smiled and nodded at Kory's determined steadfastness.

"Okay." Not a second after Rachael spoke, Serena returned followed closely by Marika. The lead Geisha stopped at the sight of Kory. She eyed the red headed Tamaranian up and down and slowly smiled sweetly.

"So this is the eager recruit Serena told me so much about." Kory nodded and stood up to present herself.

"Indeed, I am Kory Anders and I am pleased to meet you." She held out her hand, which Marika shook enthusiastically.

"…A sense of propriety and manners, I like her already. We would be happy to have you." Kory and Rachael exchanged smiles. "You've come at a slightly inconvenient time but it can be managed. Our trip to Vegas is so soon that we will need to wait until afterward in order to perform the…….necessary initiations." Kory's smile was snuffed out faster than a light bulb.

"I-I beg your pardon?"

"They have to be done, not a single Geisha ever became one without going through the proper rites. Don't worry its not to get too worked up about." Kory gulped. "So!" Marika said clapping her hands together. "Serena tells me you can't start classes until Monday but you can go ahead and move in with us."

"Very well," said Kory quietly.

"Great, I'll tell the others you're coming."

Rachael led Kory outside and back to her car. Richard and Shannon had already gone so as not to be seen with Kory. It was clear to Rachael that Marika's mentioning of 'initiations' had somehow upset Kory. One of the reasons why Rachael took the job she did was because she always seemed to have an almost empathic ability to read people's feelings.

"So you're really ready for this."

"I am," said Kory silently. "I wish to see Richard."

"Is it about what Marika said?"

Kory traced her finger along the material of her seat. "…Among other things." She bit her lip then with a little more resolve turned back to Rachael. "Richard is unaware that I know……….that I know we approaching the anniversary of his loss." Rachael's mouth parted slightly and her eyes drifted to Kory for a split second. "No matter what operation I am involved in, I wish to be with him on that night."

"I'm…I'm sure that-" Kory shook her head and leaned back.

"Please do not worry Rachael; I am unsure as to what I will say myself."

* * *

TRINITY HOSPITAL…………….

"Its called 'complete cellular deterioration'," said Richard. He sat before his partner's bed on a stool with a raised table before him. He set a queen of hearts down upon a king of spades. "At least that's how I'd describe solitaire, if it was any more boring they might as well call it……Death."

Victor Stone watched his long time friend, Richard, through one eye. Nearly the entire left side of his face was covered with bandages. The seasoned FBI agent breathed slowly and swallowed.

"Dick…..I'm really not in the mood." His voice was soft and scratchy; no doubt weathered away by his ordeal. Richard hopped off the stool and limped over to a chair at Victor's side. "Hey, what about the girl…" Richard regarded him strangely.

"There's no way she survived."

Victor's only visible eye rolled. "Yeah I know that….did you find out who she is?" Richard had to raise an eyebrow and chuckle.

"Are you serious? You're lying here, half dead, and all you want to hear about is how the case is going?"

"The only thing I can move besides my head is my eyeball, Dick. If I don't have something….anything..to think about then I'm gonna go nuts. Please, what's going on?" Richard tapped his cane against the floor and heaved a long breath.

"Her name is, or rather was, Emily Regan. She was a college student at Howard U. We've linked her to a sorority and a face in Vegas but so far that's it. If the trail goes cold half across the county this one may end up in the dead case cabinet." A weak smirk played across Victor's face.

"That thing's got an inch of dust in it, it's so empty. You've never lost a case, Dick." Richard looked him square in the eye with a straight face. "There's no way you're gonna go down easy."

"Probably not."

"So how's Kory taking it?" asked Victor now looking away.

"She's confident you'll be back in no time, the trained medical professionals on the other hand are less optimistic."

"No man I mean…I mean how's she deal'n with going undercover?" Needless to say the ill-tempered cripple was mildly surprised. "Come on man, you're not the only detective here. You said this Regan gal was…connected to some sorority right? You'd either send Kory or Shan in there, and Shan doesn't like you enough to say yes."

Richard shrugged. "But she's still delightful. But yeah, you're right. I did ask her and she said 'yes'."

"You think she's read?"

"She thinks she is, that's all that matters. I almost surprised myself. After the incident with Serviacc I never wanted to put her in danger again."

"Whoa, Dick Grayson giving a hoot about someone else?"

"Cheap shots will get you no healthcare," said Richard rising to his feet. "Speaking of which, I'm here mostly to tell you what's going to happen with you." If Victor could shrug he would have.

"I'm going to be fine, right?" Richard slowly shook his head.

"You're dying." Victor pursed his lips together. "Toni has looked over every possibility to exhaustion. You only have one hope for survival."

"Well? What is it?" asked Victor. Richard hesitated to answer; this only heightened Victor's anxious curiosity. The cane wielding agent moved to the doorway in order to get a good view of Toni. She stood at a nurse's station reading over patient data. Richard took careful aim and tossed a pencil in her direction. The projectile scratched across her page and made her jump slightly. She sent him a fleeting look of annoyance; it melted when he motioned for her to join them. Not a second after she walked in Richard told her to shut the door and lock it.

"What's going on?" persisted Victor.

"I suppose Richard has discussed our plan," said Toni.

"No!" exclaimed Victor. "Nobody's told me anythin-ing…" He became so agitated that a wave of pain shot threw him. Toni instantly flew to his side to administer another dose of morphine. The pain faded into numbness and his breathing slowed to a steady rhythm.

"Bruce's R.N.D. calls is Project Arcturus," said Richard.

"Bruce…..you mean Wayne?" asked Victor. Toni hovered over him still with her stethoscope. Richard nodded affirmatively.

"It's a state of the art reconstructive technology incorporating the latest in cyber robotics," said Toni as she draped her stethoscope around her neck and straightened. "In fact it's so advanced that there are many in the upper echelons of our government who don't know about it."

Victor once again swallowed hard. "How do you?"

Toni smiled humbly before answering. "I helped design it." To this Victor was not the least bit surprised for shocked. Having been mentioned honorably many times in numerous journals, he knew no more brilliant a doctor than Toni Monetti.

"As I understand it the augments would increase your strength and endurance ten-maybe twenty fold," said Richard. Victor turned a suspicious eye at him.

"Sounds great, what's the catch?"

"The catch," said Richard uneasily. "Catch is…..whoever performs your surgery is going to replace almost ninety-two percent of your body." Victor's mouth slacked open and it began shaking.

"W-What?!"

"The explosion cause several pieces of shrapnel to lodge themselves in various areas of your body," said Toni. "Your bloodstream carried smaller pieces to sensitive organs; I was able to put a stop to it before it reached your heart and lungs……but the rest have to be replaced."

"Nnno!" mumbled Victor.

"We need your consent if we are to proceed." Victor was beside himself.

"Consent? I-I can't even lift my hand-how am I supposed to sign a damn form!" His intense emotions clouded his memory of the fact that he had made Richard his medical proxy. Toni calmed him before he could cause himself more pain. However this time she didn't step away, she remained close and held the visible side of his face.

"Victor please….you only have another week at most before this is no longer a viable option for you, and the procedure itself will take three days. There a lot of people who don't want you to die." She sniffled and took in a sharp breath. "And I'm one of them." Richard studied them both closely. Victor closed his eye and nodded.

"Can you gimmie a second with Dick." She stood up and quick as lightening she was out of Victor's room. Richard peeked through the blinds to see Toni disappearing into the women's room. "Dick…" Richard returned to his friend's side. Victor stared at him past the bandages. He stared at him with a sincerity and a bond not shared with many. "What do you think?" Richard arched a brow. "Should I do it?"

"If you don't, you're dead. I don't think you have a choice."

"I know it's the logical thing to do but that's not what I asked."

"It's risky."

"Not an answer," said Victor.

"Toni knows what she's doing-"

"Still not an answer," interjected Victor. Richard looked at him with a 'well-what-do-you-want-from-me' face. "Come on Dick, quick stalling and tell me; what do you think?" Richard put his full weight on his cane.

"You should do it."

"I should do it?"

"You should do it," repeated Richard. Victor nodded. His eye wandered to a random spot on the wall.

"So….I get to go in, and come out the Six Million Dollar Man."

"Nope," said Richard. He leaned forward. "You get to come out as The Terminator." Victor began quietly laughing. Richard smiled and shifted about. Victor tried to talk between fits.

"You…you only say that cause I was him for Halloween one year."

Richard laughed quietly. "You're probably the only black Terminator that ever was."

"Yeah and don't you forget dude." Richard took one hand off his cane and balling it fist pumped Victor's wrapped left hand. Victor closed his eye and took a heavy deep breath. "Okay……okay, I'll do it." Richard nodded and quite casually he said;

"Okay, good." He began to take his leave.

"Richard." The aforementioned halted. He craned his neck to look at the bedridden FBI agent. "If this thing goes south……..don't you dare hesitate." Richard nodded and finally left the room.

Outside, beside the nurse's station, Toni stood vigilantly waiting for Richard to emerge. He stopped beside her and waited a moment before giving her the answer she had been hoping for.

"He'll do it. Give me the forms you need."

Toni chuckled ironically. "How do you give consent for a procedure that doesn't exist?"

"Good point." He drew his medicine and Toni's eyes locked on to the pills.

"Could you possibly spare one or two of those?" Without answering Richard let three of them fall into her open palm. He raised his own to his mouth and toasted to his friend's health.

"Cheers." They both downed their painkiller cocktails and Toni took her leave in order to prepare.

* * *

Malcolm Bell stood beside Chang in a conference room filled with highly decorated and esteemed military personnel. They all stared up at the pair with eager albeit stony faces. Bell cleared his throat.

"Gentlemen, thank you for seeing us."

General Hammond nodded to another man sitting across from him. "Dr. Bell, allow me to introduce General Norton Swartz, Chief of Staff of the Air Force." As if the sight of so much honorable authority wasn't unnerving enough.

"Glad to meet you General." He took a small remote in hand and clicked on a table projector. Upon a retractable screen, their observations displayed for all to see. "Now initially our task was to identify the metal the craft is composed of. That revealed itself to be impossible; the metal clearly bears no resemblance to anything found on Earth." He moved on to the next slide. "We then moved on to trying to see inside."

"I assume you succeeded," said General Swartz.

"Eventually, yes. The material repelled almost all of our scanning equipment save for ultrasound; with it we were able to discern this." At Bell's cue Chang displayed the grey and blurred image of its occupant; it was of a slender female. "As you can see she appears humanoid and we have designated her an estimated age of nineteen. Further study has also revealed the presence of nine individual stomachs."

"Perhaps a high metabolism is needed in order to fuel powers we cannot even begin to imagine," said Chang almost hungrily.

"We've also determined the low levels of radiation being emitted from the craft are actually coming from her."

"Meaning what, precisely?" asked Swartz.

"That Chang could be right, she could possess incredible abilities. Since we have been unable to conduct any kind of PET or CT scans it's unclear as to what stage of evolution her mind has reached. So far this has been all we have been to gather or deduce." Swartz finished taking notes then nodded up at the scientist.

"Thank you Dr. Bell, do you have anything else you would like to add?" Just then it hit him. Everything about this project had been making him feel uneasy, but it had nothing to do with the large military presence. In truth, they were the only reason he felt the least bit safe. The more he studied their visitor the more he began to question the reason it landed in the first place. He set his remote down and clicked off the projector.

"Sirs, I'm not sure how to describe this but……I've been having a bad feeling about this as of late."

"What do you mean Dr?" asked Hammond.

"Yes Dr, what do you mean?" said Chang irritably.

Bell pointed to Swartz and Hammond. "Can you two swear on your honor as soldiers that you have never once encountered anything extraterrestrial?" Swartz and Hammond glanced at one another and Hammond nodded.

"Yes, we can."

"Well then, it just makes me wonder; we have never had first contact before, so why now? And why just this one random landing?" He paced about the area in front of the large desk filled with seasoned officers. Chang's eyes followed him uneasily. "And further more, why didn't she disembark when she landed? The crash seemed pretty violent and she's still alive, why didn't she leave the ship?"

"What are trying to say Dr?" asked Hammond.

"Her heart rate has been slowed to just a single beat per minute, which suggests she has been placed into state of metabolic stasis. Sirs I don't think she can willfully exit the craft, or that it was supposed to have a destination. Wherever this was launched from they certainly made sure it would be far away from them before it hit anything."

"Dr. Bell," interrupted Swartz. "Are you suggesting that this craft may actually be a form of imprisonment?" Bell knew Chang wouldn't like his answer. There was simply no way to avoid it.

"That is a strong possibility Sir, yes. We could have an intergalactic criminal on our hands." His final statement left the room in an uncomfortable silence. Swartz sent a fleeting glance at Hammond, as though he were communicating with him telepathically. Hammond then stood up.

"Thank you, if you could give us a moment please?" Chang and Bell quietly took their leave.

AAAAAAA

Outside Chang wasted no time in rounding on Bell. "Have you completely lost your mind?!" he spat in a hushed tone.

"I'm not a born liar, Chang." Said Bell defiantly. "If we keep a single fact from them we could find ourselves in some very troubled times." Chang paced about almost madly, quite beside himself.

"Damn it boy you don't know the military as I do. Do you have any idea what you have done? All you accomplished with that little honest speech of yours is ensure the closure of this project. They will sit on it for decades!"

"That's their prerogative," replied Bell. "If you read our contracts more closely you'll see we were hired on as mainly consultants. The fact that we've taken the project this far only points to the amount of leeway they've allowed us."

"And thanks to you we may never finish it!"

Bell stepped closer to Chang. "Are you angry because of what I said or because your days with the Russians are beginning to catch up with you?" Chang's demeanor changed from acrid to nervous. "Oh yeah I know all about the 'experiments' you allegedly performed."

"That's the past-"

"The past matters!" hissed Bell. "At least, it does to me." At that moment the conference door was opened and officers began filling out. Generals Swartz and Hammond were last to exit and they stopped before the two scientists. Swartz remained in silence for a moment, and then cleared his throat.

"We have passed on your observations and thoughts to the President, and based on our recommendation he has decided that the project will be shelved for the time being." Chang mentally swore up a storm. "You both have provided this project with invaluable insight and a substantial merit will be credited to your private bank accounts. I don't think I need to remind you of the details of the nondisclosure agreement."

"No sir," said Bell.

"Crystal clear," said Chang through clenched teeth. Swartz shook hands with them both and send a nod to Hammond.

"George." Chang followed after the Chief of Staff trying to convince him to reconsider, completely ignoring the fact that it was no longer his decision. Hammond hung behind along with Bell.

"Look son, I'm sorry about this."

"I wish this could have amounted to something better," lamented Bell. Hammond felt determined to offer something to console the disappointed scientist.

"Look, sometime down the road someone will undoubtedly become interested in this project. If and when that happens, I promise, if I'm still in a position to do so, to get you back in charge. But that's the best I can do."

Bell smiled with a nod and shook the General's hand. "Well, that's more than enough. Thank you sir."

* * *

RICHARD'S HOME……………………

Richard finally returned home after taking all day to make the arrangements for Victor's operation. As he walked down the hall he slowly came to stop as the sound of music reached his ears, the sort hear from an old fashioned record player. He let his backpack rest against the wall in the hallway leading to his room. He stepped inside and saw Kory contently listening to an angelically female voice sing Ave Maria. Richard leaned against the doorframe and the resulting creak drew Kory's attention. She let out a slightly startled 'oh' and switched off the record player.

She stood to her feet. "I hoped you would not mind, the title of the piece roused my curiosity."

"Naa, I like your taste in music. That was Barb's favorite." She stepped further inside. "So, I heard about the transcript Danielle cooked up for you, sounds…..good." Kory laughed at his words.

"Yes, I must admit that many of my accolades sounded quite unbelievable." Richard shrugged and sat down on the bed.

"Well that's what people like them enjoy. They like parading insanely beautiful people around with equally insane and impossible accomplishments. All you have to do is act like a know-it-all and that everyone with less money than you is dirt." He looked her up and down for a moment. "You may need to take acting lessons." Again Kory let out an amused chuckle and sat beside him. "I suppose Rachael kept telling you how much you don't have to do this." He twisted his head to look at her, and how he greatly enjoyed the simple action. She smiled delicately. "She's kind of a freak like that."

"Indeed, and I continually told her that I am more than ready to undertake this mission." He looked away and nodded.

"Good."

"Now, what of friend Victor?" she asked, taking hold of his arm in the process.

Using the head of his cane, Richard scratched the back of his neck. "We've prepared a very radical and dangerous operation that will leave him with less than ten percent of his home grown flesh." One of Kory's hands nearly made it to her mouth. "Instead of lungs, heart, and a brain he'll live off a brain and a battery. But he'll still be the same ol' jolly black giant." Now both of Kory's hands took hold of Richard.

"There is a substantial chance he will survive, yes?" Richard opened his mouth but his voice faltered. Kory's wide emerald eyes stared at him intently. The two orbs saw the object of their affection turn worrisome, though anyone who knew him less would mistake the expression for calm. Richard let his cane fall to the floor like a freshly cut tree.

"I hope so."

AAAAAAA

That night was the last Kory would spend with Richard before her undercover work began. The two of them lay side by side, except Richard was the only one of the two not lost in dreamland. Kory on the other hand, slept quite soundly with one over her arms draped over his chest. Every now and then her fingers would curl slightly, slightly tickling him through the fabric of his nightshirt. Richard's eyes were open and he was wide awake. His mind was far too restless to allow itself to lazy off into slumber. The feeling brought back memories of nights past before he met Kory. He gently took hold of the hand over his chest and her fingers naturally curled around his. Richard continued to look about with his straight yet restless eyes. Soon they wandered back to the red head lying next to him. Very carefully Richard eased himself out from under Kory. An idea had come to him.

* * *

Several loud knocks rang against the front door of a suburban home. The occupant sleepily moved through the darkened halls, possibly still asleep in some ways. As soon as she reached the door, Danielle looked through the peep hole and saw the distorted image of Richard waiting on her doorstep. For a moment she thought that perhaps her dream had turned into a nightmare. She unlatched the locks and opened the door just enough to lean against it.

Richard raised an eyebrow. "Nice nightgown, your boyfriend give it to you?"

"I can only assume you're well aware of what time it is, or you wouldn't be here," said the forensic expert drowsily.

"I need help," said Richard.

"That's obvious."

"There is a chance that one of my best friends could be dead in a few days," said Richard. Danielle's eyes fell away from him, she was well aware of Victor's situation. "Kory is about to take on a job which I pushed her into, I don't want the same chance to fall on her."

Danielle shrugged. "So what do you want me to do?"

"I need an edge…….a smart edge." Danielle's fingers drummed against the door for a moment. She disappeared back inside momentarily then reemerged clutching a black USB jump drive. She placed the tiny device in hands then pulled the fabric of her nightgown closer to her person.

"It contains a Trojan Horse program, within it is a mutating algorithm which will allow give you complete access to every computer within range of their wi-fi bubble. All you have to do is have Kory plug it into computer in the house." Richard arched a brow.

"Cool." He pocketed the USB key. "This feud of ours-"

"Look I realized a while ago that our jobs are more important than a petty squabble," said Danielle. "For now you can make it up to me by leaving and letting me get back to bed."

Richard nodded agreeably. "Sounds fair, only don't get too comfortable. I'm probably going to need you again soon. Convincing Whitman to let me run off to Vegas for the weekend may take some tinkering." He turned away and began making his way back to his car. Danielle began moving back to her house when her face broke into a crooked smile.

"Goodnight Richard."

* * *

Bell retrieved the last of his clothes from the drawers in his room and stuffed them away into a suitcase. He determined to leave without feeling as though his time at the base had been a failure. Once so excited about what a discovery he could make, now brooding on the possible horror they stumbled across; Bell thought it best to put it out of his mind. His eyes fell on his security card on the nightstand. What was the harm of saying a farewell to his project?

AAAAAAAAA

The scanner issued a high pitch beep and turned green, allowing Bell access to the laboratory. Every time he had entered before then to work, he was forced to stop to allow himself to be checked over by two SF's posted outside the chamber. Bell's face morphed into one of apprehension when he saw the before mentioned enlisted men on the floor unconscious. Immediately Bell slammed his hand upon the base alarm but nothing happened. Whoever had disabled the guards made certain the same fate befell the alarm. Undeterred he raised the blast door covering the observation window and to his little surprise he saw Chang working before the craft.

"Chang," he mumbled. In no time flat he made his way downstairs and burst through the heavy door. Chang calmly glanced behind him and snickered.

"Hmp, the good little boy who likes to play with the military; welcome." Chang continued his work. Bell took cautious steps toward the aged scientist and caught a glimpse of what he was doing.

"You're deactivating the magnetic field."

"How very astute."

Bell rushed to his side and pulled him away. "You can't!" Chang yanked his arm out of Bell's grasp.

"Why?! Because the big bald General said so? Authority always stands in the way of progress, but not this day." He rounded back to control console. "No, this day I'll have my alien."

"You can't underestimate this creature's power," insisted Bell.

"On the contrary, my boy, I am expecting our guest to do nothing less than dazzle me." Bell looked about and saw various lights beginning to fade. It was now up to him to stop the madman from releasing a beast. He clamped his hands upon Chang's shoulders and pulled him away. The old Asian man whirled around and laid a backhanded punch upon Bell's jaw. Once again Chang stood king of the hill upon the platform. Bell rubbed a tiny drop of blood from his lip.

"You may have just killed us all." Chang shook his head; he was far beyond reason and not inclined to start listening. He now gave the craft his full attention. Just as they knew it would, the space cell began to loose his shape. Drop by drop more of the metallic liquid fell to the floor below it. Soon its shape so far-gone that not even holding clamps could continue keeping it aloft. Bell saw with fascination that even after liquid left the craft it never hardened. The lumpy mass of metal continued to roll away when finally they began to see a hand emerge from the silvery liquid. The hand was followed by the arm it was attached to, followed by her legs, which were inevitably followed by her lower and upper body. Both scientists stood but mesmerized by the sight of her. She was covered in a full body suit which appeared to look like armor in some places. Finally her head was now in plain sight. Chang was not wrong; the sight of her magnificent purple hair alone did indeed dazzle them. Bell stood up, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Is she?"

"I'm not sure," mumbled Chang. He inched closer and bent down beside her. He turned the young alien onto her back and her serene sleeping features came into light. "Amazing, she almost embodies perfection."

"Chang-"

"AH-Uhhhhhh!" A loud gasp and a long deep breath erupted from the extraterrestrial. Chang and Bell both stared as the dark haired alien struggled to get to her feet. Chang moved forward, completely ignoring a silent warning from Bell.

"Hello! I have set you free." He steadied her as she was now kneeling. "I have so many questions which I'm sure you'll answer in due time." She brought her hands to her face, breathing harder and harder. Chang grew impatient. "The time for silence is over……TALK! GAH-" Her hand suddenly shot up and gripped his throat like a vice. A suffocating Chang soon found himself staring into two large and glowing purple eyes. She brought him close and whispered viciously.

"Heska Vo." With absolutely no effort, she threw him backwards into the solid concrete wall. His body hit the wall like a wrecking ball and the sounding crack caused Bell to grow ill. He watched as Chang's limp body fell to the floor, dead as doornail. A shuffling caught his ears. He turned and his mouth fell open at the sight of the alien inching toward him, her eyes still brightly alight.

"Uh….s-s-s-sorry for not getting you out of that sooner. It's…it's just a lot of.." Her face was unchanging and she had backed him right up against the wall. His voice was just barely over a shaking whisper. "Red tape……"

"Melloka tu bii roonaka?" The only thing that Bell understood about the words that came out of her mouth was the fact that they were definitive and demanding.

"W-What?"

Her face grew livid. "Melloka tu bii roonaka!"

"I can't understand you!" He said boisterously. Her glowing eyes narrowed. He got the impression she might x-raying him or deciding whether or not she actually needed him. Then, without warning or explanation, she grabbed his head and forced his lips upon hers. Despite almost being her hostage Bell might have found himself enjoying the action but for a strange sensation that flowed through his body like a low voltage shock. The alien girl released him and with her also went the low voltage keeping his weakened knees from giving out. Bell sank to the floor utterly out of breath. She cocked her head at him, like someone observing a small animal. She slowly knelt down beside him. Bell of course made one last feeble attempt to crawl up the wall.

"Do you now?" her voice was as domineering as it was in her native tongue. Bell swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded. "Good, now I shall only repeat myself once more. Where am I?"

"Earth…" She rolled her eyes.

"That means nothing to me, what galaxy?"

"The-The Milky Way." She sighed. The name was still meaningless to her. She rose to her feet and paced about the room. As she stood up she suddenly felt dizzy and began to loose her balance. A tray of utensils was knocked over in her effort to stay upright. Bell rushed to her side to steady her. "Careful there-"

"Leave me!" she snapped. He quickly took his hands away. In all truth he didn't think she would need that much help, it was just part of waking up from being in deep stasis for so long. He felt his courage beginning to return.

"What's your name?" The question struck her as not only odd but highly inappropriate. After all, she was never forced to personally interact with the peasantry. However she remembered that this was a foreign world.

"I am Komand'r, crowned princess of Tamaran." She paused for a moment. "You're species is….similar to mine in appearance. What are you called?"

"My name is Malcolm," he said with a smile.

"No you fool, what is the name of your species?"

"Oh, we are homosapien or human." Komand'r nodded factually.

"I see, well…human. Perhaps I could identify this backwater planet by the name its ruler. Kindly give it to me please." Bell arched a brow.

"Our what?"

"The one who wields power over this planet. X'Hal almighty, is it just you or does your entire species possess an intelligence as antiquated as your technology?" Arrogance never does well instill fear in anybody's heart, and apparently it didn't have the effect on Bell. His expression grew slightly cross.

"No, I was just confused thank you very much. No one person rules over the whole planet. There are hundreds of countries, each with their own system of rule." Komand'r brought a pensive index to her lower lip.

"Hmm, a primitive species….numbering possibly in the billions, and without a central ruler to unite them all; I am beginning to see promise here."

"What are you talking about?" posed Bell. Komand'r turned an eerie and conniving smile in his direction.

"I lost my home now I shall have a new one, and in the process I will do your people a favor by uniting them under my wise tenet." Bell's eyes bounced about then they refocused on her as realization hit him.

"Then I was right, you are a criminal. They locked you up and now Chang set your free." Komand'r shrugged.

"You only see it as misfortune because your feeble mind has yet to comprehend my power. But I can assure you; soon I will transform Earth into a wonder rivaling the very best of Tamaran. Now where is the way out?" Bell folded his arms defiantly.

"Good luck, there's an entire battalion on the surface; thousand strong." Koma's only response was a confident smile.

AAAAAAA

The battalion which Bell mentioned was indeed patrolling the surface and due to Chang's meddling remained unaware of Koma's escape. Two SF's walking side by side came to a halt as a slight rumbling began moving up through the earth below them. With each passing second it grew larger and more powerful. Just as something terrible began to dawn on the two of them, a glowing fist burst up through the ground and sent them flying. The scene easily gathered the attention of all present. With little more than a few well placed punches, Koma was stepping up onto the paved road with eyes blazing. It didn't take more than a few seconds for her to be entirely surrounded.

A voice over a loud speaker ordered. "**Get down on the ground with your hands behind your head!**" Koma moved her head about, after a few stiff alleviating cracks she was ready. Her feet slowly left the ground; clearly unbridled joy was not the driving force behind her flight. She continued rise into the air until she was no more than fifteen feet off the ground. Koma curled her arms and legs close to her body and a field of purple energy began gathering around her. The one operating the loudspeaker hesitantly brought the microphone back to his mouth. "**This is your final warning. Get down on the ground!**" Among the sounds of a building charge around Koma, the hundreds of soldiers cocked their weapons and took aim. The C.O. took one moment too long to give the final order. "**FIRE!**"

"ARGHHH!" Koma spread her arms and legs apart, unleashing a devastating wave of energy. All around her, as well as any heavily armored vehicles, were either disintegrated or blasted away. Survivors attempting to make their escape were soon left falling to the ground with smoldering holes blown in their chests. From her eyes and fists Komand'r rained nothing less than utter blight upon all before her. Bell made his way to the surface and gazed upon the ensuing carnage with his mouth ajar.

"Dear God….."

Komand'r kept her place in the air, laughing gleefully at the numbers trying to run and same number trying to fight back. No matter which action they chose, they were soon to be laid low and made as dust.

* * *

Well! How was that? I know Koma may have entered the story a little fast, but I wanted the alien story to develop earlier than in the first one. It's has a much more personal feel to it. Yes Logan wasn't in this chapter but don't worry, he's not taking a backseat role. He just didn't have a part this time around. Hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you think. Laters!


	5. Coast to Coast

Delays and massive school projects aside, we finally come to the next installment. Here's a tip for you all, after you read this, go out and rent any of the Naked Gun movies. I finally watched them again after a few years and they are the funniest movies of all time. The awesome gents and ladies who reviewed show see them to; **The Aceman, xStarfirexRobinxo, erifrats101, cartoonfire, Sizzlin'-Starry-Night-Sky, Sklyer-A-Teloiv, Xoroth, Realfanficts, tennisgal456**. Enjoy! And Happy Halloween!

* * *

Chapter Five

Coast to Coast

The battalion which Bell mentioned was indeed patrolling the surface and due to Chang's meddling remained unaware of Koma's escape. Two SF's walking side by side came to a halt as a slight rumbling began moving up through the earth below them. With each passing second it grew larger and more powerful. Just as something terrible began to dawn on the two of them, a glowing fist burst up through the ground and sent them flying. The scene easily gathered the attention of all present. With little more than a few well placed punches, Koma was stepping up onto the paved road with eyes blazing. It didn't take more than a few seconds for her to be entirely surrounded.

A voice over a loud speaker ordered. "Get down on the ground with your hands behind your head!" Koma moved her head about, after a few stiff alleviating cracks she was ready. Her feet slowly left the ground; clearly unbridled joy was not the driving force behind her flight. She continued rise into the air until she was no more than fifteen feet off the ground. Koma curled her arms and legs close to her body and a field of purple energy began gathering around her. The one operating the loudspeaker hesitantly brought the microphone back to his mouth. "This is your final warning. Get down on the ground!" Among the sounds of a building charge around Koma, the hundreds of soldiers cocked their weapons and took aim. The C.O. took one moment too long to give the final order. "FIRE!"

"ARGHHH!" Koma spread her arms and legs apart, unleashing a devastating wave of energy. All around her, as well as any heavily armored vehicles, were either disintegrated or blasted away. Survivors attempting to make their escape were soon left falling to the ground with smoldering holes blown in their chests. From her eyes and fists Komand'r rained nothing less than utter blight upon all before her. Bell made his way to the surface and gazed upon the ensuing carnage with his mouth ajar.

"Dear God….."

Komand'r kept her place in the air, laughing gleefully at the numbers trying to run and the same number trying to fight back. No matter which action they chose, they were soon to be laid low and made as dust.

* * *

UPSTATE D.C……………….

The morning dew painted a foggy sheen over the freshly cut grass of a small estate, which was surrounded by a wall and a guarded by iron gates. Anyone who lived nearby knew well that this was among Bruce Wayne's many summer homes. The billionaire himself stepped out onto the front porch holding a steaming cup of coffee and watched as an ambulance and a black SUV approached the front gate. The iron partition slowly opened, granting the two vehicles access. They came to a slow stop and people began stepping out. A police officer offered a helping hand to Toni as she climbed out of the ambulance with her patient carefully wheeled behind her. The paramedics and security personnel took Victor aside through a larger set of double doors while Toni approached Bruce.

"Lovely house you have here," said the doctor.

Bruce shrugged. "It's hardly worth the insurance. We have everything inside; if you need any additional personnel just ask." Toni smiled and nodded.

"Thank you Mr. Wayne."

"Bruce, please."

Toni could only chuckle and look away sheepishly. "Well I am very sorry, but I doubt I'll ever ever ever feel comfortable calling you 'Bruce'." Bruce nodded slightly and took a sip of his coffee.

"Fine, you hungry?"

"Oh very, but it'll have to wait. We need to begin as soon as possible." He stepped aside and she entered.

* * *

Miles away from Bruce's summer home was the congested streets of downtown D.C., FBI Deputy Director Douglass Whitman sat at a table with a breakfast menu unfolded in his hands. The restaurant around him was a series of rooms divided by glass walls. The air was a buzz of quiet and modest chatter, but never anything above an "indoor voice." His waiter finally arrived at his side and asked for the Deputy Director's order.

"I'll have the ham and eggs, no hash browns please."

"Your eggs?"

"Uh over easy, thank you." Before the waiter could leave, someone else suddenly sat down across from Whitman. Richard set his cane aside and gave his arms a quick stretch. Whitman of course was less than pleased to see him.

"Agent Grayson what are you doing?"

"Hold that thought Doug," said Richard. He looked up at the waiter. "Gimmie a 'Grand Slam' and make sure it comes with pancakes." The waiter and Whitman exchanged odd looks.

"Sir this isn't Denny's, we don't have a 'Grand Slam' on our menu." Richard rolled his eyes and stuff a few notes into the waiter's pouch.

"Here's twenty bucks, throw one together and make sure it comes with pancakes." The waiter positively rolled his eyes and took his leave toward the kitchen. Whitman cleaned his glasses with an extra napkin.

"So, why are you here?"

Richard folded his arms. "I've got a case." Whitman nodded and let his eyes fall to a newspaper article.

"Wonderful, you've managed to earn your annual salary yet again." Richard let an amused snort escape his grinning mouth.

"Doug Whitman, did you just make a funny?" Whitman tried not to pay Richard any attention. "This calls for a celebration, you should get a 'Grand Slam' too. Hey Garson!"

"Agent Grayson, the reason you're here……"

"Right, I need you to give the green light for my team to go to Vegas," said Richard seriously.

"You've used your vacation time already, last month in fact. Oddly enough the trip to Malibu for your entire team somehow only consisted of you and Mrs. Anders."

"Yeah," said the crippled agent wit ha dreamy grin. "That was a fun weekend. But seriously, the Emily Regan case…" Whitman returned his eyes to Richard. "We linked her to a sorority at Howard U. From there it leads to a performer in Vegas." Whitman nodded.

"Very well, notify the California office and get heir authorization."

"Can't do that," said Richard predictably.

"It's far outside your jurisdiction, Agent Grayson. You can't just march into their territory and arrest whomever you want. It's called 'procedure' because it's a rule we all have to follow."

Richard, however was determined. "Whoever is pulling the strings behind this obviously wields considerable influence; we can bet they're a frequent trafficker of information. If I do things by the book, I'll end up tipping them off." Whitman shrugged.

"Unfortunately the law says that we have to take such risks." Richard then leaned forward and spoke rather hoarsely.

"In case you haven't noticed, my partner is half dead and several bystanders weren't as lucky. This girl just ran into a mall food court and suicide bombed herself in broad daylight. I've had Rachael look at her psych records; no history of erratic or dangerous behavior and certainly never any desire to kill herself!"

"That's enough!" Both men managed gain the attention of everyone in earshot. They relaxed and the crowd around them resumed their own conversations. Whitman cleared his throat and continued in a more subdued voice. "You're a smart person, so I know that you have to understand what it is you're asking me. You want me to allow you to breach protocol just because you have this theory of a coast to coast conspiracy and that some girl was hypnotized into blowing herself up." Richard rubbed his forehead. "It's completely ludicrous."

"You know I pretty much make my entire career on 'ludicrous'," said Richard. At that moment the waiter returned and low and behold with Richard's 'Grand Slam'. He glanced up at the waiter with an impressed look. "Nice job, son." Whitman thanked the waiter. They were left alone once again. The Deputy Director knew that he was well within his power and probably his responsibility to deny Richard his request. However today, for an unknown reason, he felt compelled to extend the benefit of the doubt.

"How long do you think you would be?"

Richard shrugged. "Hard to say. Kory's gone undercover with the sorority and they're making a weekend trip to the town." Whitman nodded and drew in a long and heavy breath.

"You have a convincing arrest record, Agent Grayson. Don't make me regret this." Richard smiled and held a glass of water aloft.

"Dougy, not in a million years."

* * *

After concluding her class and sending them on their way for the weekend, Rachael gathered everything she would need while taking her temporary post at Kory's side. To further the clandestine nature of her job even more, Rachael chose to take a philosophy position rather than psychology. Kory was also to ensure that she chose Rachael's course as part of her electives.

"Rachael." Logan had entered the lecture hall, unbeknownst to her. She acknowledged him with a nod of the head and went back to packing.

"So it's really happening; Kory's actually going undercover?"

"Yes she is." Logan moved his lower jaw about nervously. She looked up from her bag and shook her head. "Did you need something?"

"Dick said I'm going with you."

"He says a lot of things, but yeah…….. Shannon was reluctant at first but she soon realized that it's necessary." Logan folded his arms.

"You mean you were reluctant and you realized it's necessary." Rachael snapped her suitcase shut.

"Well what if I am?"

"I'm tired of this Rachael. If you really have given up on us, fine……but at least treat me with some respect. We're going to have to be watching each other's backs, just last year."

"We were attacked by aliens!" she exclaimed.

"SO! Come on Rachael, are you really going to stay mad at me for keeping that psycho from killing you?" Rachael walked out from behind her desk and stood before him. He was just a little taller than her and the dimmed lights played off her hair like a soft glow.

"It just strikes me, why didn't you ask for help?"

"This guy…..this guy had eyes and ears everywhere. He knew what I was thinking before I even thought it." She didn't flinch or try to pull away when he took her arms. "I'm tell'n you, if he had made good on this threat to kill you……..I'd know just how Dick feels. I never wanted that."

"But I wasn't your wife." He smiled and bobbed his head about.

"And you're telling me you never thought about it?" Rachael was abundantly thankful for the failing light, so successful was it in hiding the rising red in her face. "I mean I know I've never had much of a chance, me and Dick making fun of your job and all-"

"That's right! You did!" She said giving him a few jabs in the stomach. He laughed while she quickly trotted back over to her suitcase.

"I mean seriously, its all bunch of psycho-babble. It's not even an exact science."

"Laugh it up, funny man." she warned. She closed her suitcase and pulled it free of the desk. "Guess you should be asking yourself, who's going to be keeping my bodyguard safe?" She quickly walked past him and it was a full two seconds before he swiveled in place and stared after her.

"Was that a threat?" He then heard her voice call back through the closing doors;

"It sure sounded like one….."

* * *

Kory was nearly done packing as well, but not only for her trip to Vegas but also for her home away from home……..away from home. It was confusing at times, but gradually she was coming to accept Earth as her new home. Richard walked in, snapping his phone shut as he went.

"Ready?"

"Almost," she replied.

"Okay, now remember; You'll have to stay with them pretty much the whole time. I'll be on the same flight but in a different section. If we bump into each other at any point, you have to act like you never met me before in your life."

"Never?" she questioned.

"If they even suspect that we know each other then your cover'll be blow and the jig will be up." She understood perfectly but still she placed a pensive finger beneath her chin.

"I understand, but……what is a jig?"

"What? It's uhh….never mind, look….." He placed her pink Razor phone in her hand. "I put a new number in it, my pager; it's under speed-dial-3. You ever need me, just hit that."

"I will," said Kory. Richard paused. He knew what he had to say, but it was her confidence in her first serious op. that he had qualms with. Nevertheless he owed it to her to be honest. "Richard?"

"Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Of course," she said definitively.

"There are some who think you may not be." Just as he predicted, Kory's eyes shown with malcontent. "I want you to prove em' wrong." She did not smile but it was clear that the fire of determination was rekindled.

"Indeed."

* * *

DULLES INTERNATIONAL……………………

Just as Richard instructed, Kory was obliged to separate from them in order to travel with her "new friends" and so as not to arouse suspicion. In meeting up with them, Kory was surprised to learn that her roundtrip first class ticket was bought and paid for. As Mama-San Marika put it, "One of the many perks to come." They soon boarded and Kory sat beside the young Geisha Richard and Shannon had spoken to, Martha.

Martha lay back in her seat, trying to nap with a velvet shade over her eyes. Kory always found it difficult to sit still on a plane; the small space, the muffling sounds, and the people tripping over themselves trying to get to the last window seat. She preferred the open air around her and not to be confined within a pressurized metal tube. She was not even sitting back against her seat. She kept gazing nervously out the window, wondering when or if they were ever going to take off. Martha peeked out from under her shade when she heard Kory utter an anxious moan.

"Don't like flying?" Of course not! Koriand'r loved flying……..just not like this. But resolved she was to remain in character.

"No…..I suppose I do not." Martha pulled the shade off and sat up straight, ready to talk. "It is just; I am accustomed to a different means of travel."

Martha nodded. "I know what you mean. It's odd when you have to see for yourself how the other half lives." Kory arched a brow. Was this girl serious? "Four hours may seem like a long time but trust me; it'll fly by like nothing…..if you'll excuse the pun." With that she put her shade back on and reentered dreamland. Kory sighed and for the first time actually lay back against her seat. At long last, the plane began pulling away from the gate and they were finally on their way. It was saddening, but Kory truly did not like anything about the conventional means of flight. Every take-off she could swear the plane itself was falling apart and there would surely be a mid-air tragedy. To her great relief, yet again, this was not the case. Soon they were cruising at maximum height and on their way.

-----

Back in the second class, Richard, Shannon, Rachael, and Logan sat together in a section best suited for larger groups. Logan kept craning his neck around the isle with a look of longing. He sat back when he felt a powerful tug from Rachael.

"Okay Dick, you're pals with a billionaire…..why couldn't we sit up front? Or take one of his twelve private planes?" The other regarded Richard with the same question.

"First of all; he has ten. Second; we can't attract attention. Don't worry; you'll forget all about plane once you see the hotel. I hear its 'Concubine Night' at the Tangiers." Logan didn't even need to say or do anything to earn a 'think-twice' look from Rachael.

"Been to this city before have you?" asked Shannon.

"Couple times. I actually suggested it to Barbara for a honey moon but she gave this 'are-you-on-drugs' look." A stewardess arrived with their previously made orders. She set a Perfect Manhattan down before Richard.

"Are you serious?" asked Rachael, holding her soda.

He shrugged. "Can't take my pills at this altitude, have to find a substitute. As Socrates said 'Beer, wine, and painkillers are signs that God loves us'." He took a drink then gestured to Shannon and Logan. "This magician, Moira, what'd you get?"

Shannon drew from her bag a series of papers. "Moira Yen-Mah, the premier illusionist in not just Vegas but pretty much the whole world. She's constantly moving around to different countries but primarily she operates out of Vegas." Richard's eyes wandered out the window as he listened. "One of the top members of The Hollywood Magic Castle and owner of two casinos on Las Vegas strip. Over the years she's also been responsible for organizing a number of charities and programs, much of it funded solely by her. And I'm afraid she beats Mr. Wayne in number of jets owned."

"Industrious little witch isn't she?" said Richard with 'Richard-whit'.

Logan snorted as he thumbed through the brochure. "Listen to this:_ Prepare to enter a world filled with fantasy and wonder, where to be spellbound is to be privileged. From the moment you sit down you will not rise until the very end. You will have entered a swirling spiral of humor, romance, and peril as one illusion follows the other. Prepare to be astounded, prepare to be mesmerized, prepare yourself for Moira the Enchantress._" He put the brochure down and threw his hands up.

"A bit high and mighty if you ask me."

"It's certainly ostentatious," said Rachael. "But it's also good advertising."

"It would have to be," said Shannon. "Balcony seats for her show sell at three hundred dollars a pop, and make no mistake……every night every seat is filled. And don't even ask how much the good spots go for."

"Stage seats?" asked Richard with a grin. Shannon blew out a befuddled breath.

"Its possible mortal man cannot say for sure how much." Richard leaned his head against the window. He slowly turned his drink about in his hands but he seldom consumed much of it.

"She's rich, she's powerful, and from the sound of things……….she's bored."

"Bored?" said Logan quizzically. "How could someone like that be bored?"

"Trust me, especially when you have more money than God you will get bored and you will find something to give you a rush." He trained his eyes back down to half glass. "The question is……what kind of rush is she getting for herself?"

----------

Kory might have kissed the ground upon landing, but fortunately she was able to restrain herself. Her, along with nine other Geishas exited the terminal and made their way down the hall toward the valet. Kory stopped in mid walk and darted her eyes between the group and another direction.

"Umm pardon me." She said humbly. They all stopped and looked back at her.

"Something wrong Kory?" asked Marika. She still had not been formally introduced to everyone, thus she felt sweat beginning to emerge as she stared at her.

"What of our luggage?"

Marika chuckled and waved a hand. "Never mind that, they're being sent to the hotel. Come, we've got something to show you." They then continued walking at Marika's lead. After taking a few twists and turns down the halls they came to an ATM. Kory tilted her head oddly at the machine.

"I do not understand. I do not need currency at the moment."

"At the moment, is the key phrase there," said Marika. She took Kory's shoulders and made her face the group. "Girls, now that we're here I would like you to meet our new Geisha. This is Kory Anders."

With almost dopey grins and in complete unison they answered, "Hi Kory." The red haired alien swallowed, quite thoroughly creeped out. Marika draped an arm over Kory's shoulder.

"Of course you will need to go through the proper rites and assume your Geisha name, but time enough for that when we return home. Now, Kory, this is for you." She handed Kory a card contained within a thin paper sleeve. Curiously, Kory removed the sleeve and found it was a bank card with the Geisha house insignia illustrated in the background.

"You are…giving me money?"

"Like I said, perks. Give it a try." She placed the card into the ATM and followed its instructions up until the password was needed. Marika comically slapped herself. "Silly me, sorry here's the pin." She gave Kory the PIN number and printed a receipt with the amount on the card. Upon taking a good look at the tiny paper, Kory's eyes bulged and her mouth sank to the center of the earth. The paper in her hands read, Available Funds: $500,000.

"Thi-this….this is….uhhh.." The poor alien could only stutter.

"Don't worry about spending it all, it gets replenished every three months. Now to business, right?" She opened a pair of double doors behind her and a stretch limo stood waiting for them. "Girls welcome back, Kory…..Welcome to Las Vegas."

* * *

Get ready, next chapter the real fun begins. Yes, Vegas has been called _Vice City, Sin City, America's Playground……..but doesn't mean it still can't be fun, right? Right? Later dudes!...........oh yeah and Dudettes!_


	6. America's Playground

Final exams, work, and house work…….none of these are conducive to keeping up with story writing. Eeeenyway, this promises to be a fun chapter. Hope you all like it. Also this one is on the long side you ya might want to have some time to kill before you sit down to read this. And many thanks go out to everyone who reviewed; **Sizzlin-Starry-Night-Sky, Cartoonfire, Skyler-A-Teloiv, Realfanficts, Tennisgal456, BonitaChickia**. Thanks as always! Enjoy!

* * *

_Chapter Six_

_America's Playground_

She placed the card into the ATM and followed its instructions up until the password was needed. Marika comically slapped herself. "Silly me, sorry here's the pin." She gave Kory the PIN number and printed a receipt with the amount on the card. Upon taking a good look at the tiny paper, Kory's eyes bulged and her mouth sank to the center of the earth. The paper in her hands read, Available Funds: $500,000.

"Thi-this….this is….uhhh." The poor alien could only stutter.

"Don't worry about spending it all, it gets replenished every three months. Now to business, right?" She opened a pair of double doors behind her and a stretch limo stood waiting for them. "Girls welcome back, Kory…..Welcome to Las Vegas." Kory then felt two of them hook their arms around both of hers and they carried her into the limo. From a distance, Richard and the gang watched as their red head was carried away into the brightly lit ocean of frivolity. Shannon could only shake her head.

"They're so gonna doll her up."

"Super," muttered Rachael, her tongue dripping with derision.

"I'm sure she'll be just adorable," mused Richard. Logan could only look skyward with a grin, his mind going over the many ways Richard would find her adorable.

"Now what?" asked Rachael.

"Now we keep an eye on her," said Richard. "Then at the right time we'll make ourselves known."

"We will?" said Logan. Richard nodded offhandedly.

"Well, I will anyway. It'll be more mysterious if it's just me."

"Uh huh, and what're the rest of us supposed to do?" asked Shannon with folded arms.

Richard shrugged. "Its Vegas, do whatever you want. TAXI!" He hailed an oncoming cab and only when it was stopped and Richard opened the door did he look back at them. He saw Shannon's un-amused glare and rolled his eyes. "Oh come on sour patch, it was joke. Get in." Logan walked past Shannon, muttering;

"Hee hee, sour patch…"

"You shut up!" She bellowed and then reluctantly followed.

* * *

SOMWHERE IN THE ALTANTIC……………………

Komand'r was certainly not the sentimental type, nor was she one to dwell much on the past. Those qualities and more made it easy for her to leave the base in total devastation and be on her merry way. She flew over the vast ocean, not knowing where she was going only that her focus was to find any kind of civilization. Her species was gifted with an immense vitality and it allowed her to fly a great distance unhindered. Unfortunately for the dark haired alien, being cooped up in her prison for so long and then engaging in such boisterous activity was beginning to leave her weak. As she glided through the air her vision grew blurry and her muscles began to ache. Her head sagged down and through the wispy clouds she saw faint points of light.

* * *

H.M.S. St. Albans, Captain James Pike commanding…….

It was the dead of night while the British frigate slowly cruised along the ocean's surface. The water was clear with only a meager amount of flog floating above. A lone sailor stood at his post, his eyes skimming across the darkened horizon and a pair of binoculars in his gloved hands. He glanced down at his watch and upon sighing a cloud of fog escaped his mouth.

"2:43 and all is well," he whispered. Behind him, a metal door opened and another sailor stepped out into the cold. They glanced at each other and nodded. "Dave.."

"Chuck," the other answered. They stood beside each other for a moment. Dave then produced a thermos and two collapsible cups. From the thermos he poured some hot tea and handed it to Chuck.

"Thanks mate."

"Yeah." The sailor poured himself a cup then set the thermos on the deck. "Yer shift ends in a few minutes." His friend nodded, having been keeping careful track of the time. Chuck drew a photo showing a young boy. Dave snuck a glance and smiled. "Your boy?"

"Yeah."

"He notice any girls yet?"

"He's years old, Dave." His shipmate chuckled. Chuck began stuffing the photo away when the two of them heard a thud. The two of them leaned away from the railing, trying to see through the darkness. "Gimmie that light." Chuck took a flashlight off a hook and handed it off to his friend. With the bright beam of light leading the way, the two sailors moved along the deck until Kormand'r's lying form was discovered. Both men stood awestruck at the sight.

Chuck's eyebrows rose. "Well there's something you don't see everyday."

"Where the hell did she come from? Get the doc and the Captain-" Kormand'r uttered a tired moan, stopping his speech dead in its tracks. After waiting a short moment, Chuck knelt down and, gently taking her shoulder, turned Kormand'r unto her back. "You okay there?" Koma's hand suddenly grabbed his arm. "AH! Bloody hell…." She turned her eyes to him and swallowed.

"I…..I need….sustenance…" Chuck turned a mystified look up to Dave and shrugged.

"She wants food."

* * *

VEGAS…………………

Within the limo, Kory found there was more than enough space for her and her new companions to lounge. However, as the long vehicle traversed the streets of Las Vegas strip, Kory sat rather stiffly. The girls all talked excitedly and to the alien most intelligibly. They all babbled ceaselessly about their classmates in various other sororities and how they were easily inferior in many ways. Rumors and stories about dramas between couples buzzed through the air as easily as a plague. Timidly, she rubbed her arm and tried to remain invisible.

"Kory!" She snapped out of her revere with a start.

"Y-Yes?!" Marika smiled and chuckled.

"Don't be so quiet. We're here to have fun, remember?"

"Oh….yes," replied Kory. One of the girls popped open a bottle of champagne and began pouring glasses. Inevitably a glass was passed to Kory. "I…was not aware we were allowed to consume alcohol." This statement earned several giggles among the others. Marika almost fell against her.

"Kory, I think you'll make an excellent Geisha! Listen, in this town you can be whoever you want….whatever age you want. The only thing that holds you back is your imagination." It was far too early in the mission to blow her cover, so Kory took the glass and offered her thanks. Marika clanged her glass against Kory's and sat back within her own space. She sipped her drink and addressed their new member. "So Kory, what're you majoring in?"

"Diplomacy," answered Kory. On Tamaran, Kory dreamt of taking up a position similar to the one these earthen schools taught. Since her sister was older than her, it was more likely that she would inherit the throne. The girls all appeared to be impressed by Kory's answered, some raising their glasses.

"An unusual choice," said Marika. "And we do like 'unusual'." Kory merely let her glass rest easily in her hands. "So! I'll bet you're excited."

"Indeed," replied Kory. She then frowned. "For what?"

"Well….you're going to meet our most revered Geisha, you're going to meet Moira." Kory's mouth parted somewhat. It was obvious, just by looking at them, that the girls all held this opportunity with high regard. "She's so busy and important that we rarely get to see her."

"Is…Is she easy to speak to?" asked Kory.

"Oh yes!" exclaimed Marika. "You don't have anything to worry about; you'll never meet a more gregarious person." It was now Kory's turn to control the conversation. She cleared her throat and addressed the whole group.

"So, I understand that we are performing tonight. What manner of entertainment are we providing?" Martha wound an arm over Kory's shoulders.

"That's something you don't have to worry about this time around."

"I do not?"

"Nope. First of all, you need to go through all the rites and take a Geisha name. Second, a new Geisha learns for weeks before she performs." Kory's deep green eyes rotated back to Marika.

"Perform…what?"

"A dance," replied the lead Geisha. "There are other things; playing music, serving food, providing company-at dinner," she said quickly. Kory nodded with a smile. "You will run into many a misguided fool who will tell you geishas were no more than prostitutes, and nothing could be further from the truth."

Another random Geisha said, "They were trained to be living breathing works of art, in just about every sense of the word." They all seemed incredibly eager to share they're way of life with her.

"And Kory," said Marika. She passed her libation off to someone sitting next to her. She leaned forward and Kory did the same so as to better hear her. "Graduating as part of our sisterhood also carries with it enormous credential. You get the grades, and live by our rules, and by the time you graduate any position in the world will be open to you." Kory's eyes fluttered down to the contents of her tall glass. "Amazing things can happen from the inside. You can have anything you want."

"Anything….."

"Anything," said Marika definitively. The second condition appeared a bit demanding to Kory, yet at the same time it also seemed to be a small price to pay. The lead Geisha's eyes drifted to a window and she squealed in delight. "Oh! We're here." A quick signal to the driver let him know to stop and stop they did. Kory turned back to Martha.

"We have arrived?"

"Well not at the hotel, no." Kory arched a brow. They began stepping out of the limo one at a time. "Mama San Moira's show is pretty upper crust dress-wise, so we're picking out a few things for you." It was then Kory realized where they had stopped. The limo was parked outside of a large clothing store labeled, Jinx's Closet." The red head's mouth dropped. Months ago she, Rachael, and Shannon had been chatting and the subject of clothes came up. Rachael was more passive on the matter but Shannon had spoken non stop about a place called "Jinx's Closet"; a place which easily gained renown for its line of very expensive apparel. Marika, smiling broadly at Kory's reaction, stepped beside her.

"You know the place then?"

"I….I think I may need a second bank card." Marika, Martha, and several others giggled. For the umpteenth time that night, Kory felt herself being dragged forward.

"Like I said Kory," said Marika. "Amazing things can happen from the inside."

* * *

CAESER'S PALACE…………….

Richard led the way into a very large and quite luxurious room in the casino/hotel of Caesar's Palace. Logan, Rachael, and Shannon all wandered in behind aimlessly and stood slack jawed. Their living quarters included a very spacious living area, fully stocked bar, a bathroom so white it was hard not to go blind upon entering, and for the proverbial cherry on top there appeared to be a second floor for an extra bedroom.

"You asked why we couldn't get a nicer plane ride," said Richard. They all slowly look at him and he shrugged. "Spent it all on the room."

"Yes, that I can see," said Rachael with a dumbfounded nod.

"We can't rest just yet though," said Richard.

"What's up?" asked Shannon.

"We, and I actually mean you three, have shopping to do." His companions looked at one another.

"Shopping?" said Rachael grimly. "For what?'

"Really really spiffy clothes. This……Moira the Enchantress loves to go all out for her evening shows. After her performance she hosts a dinner gala at the Tangiers Casino for everyone who bought a stage seat and especially…." He paused with a grin. "….For all the VIP's and celebutards."

"And we got one of those seats?" asked Logan hopefully. He earned a look from Rachael. "What?! You gotta know they serve top notch food and hooch at these things. Dick tell me……please tell me you got us stage seats." Shannon, who had taken a seat on the rather comfy couch, trained her eyes back to Richard. Richard gulped two pills and nodded.

"I got us stage seats."

"YES!" exclaimed Logan. He quickly draped an arm around Rachael. "See?! Now we get to see the show up close and then get eats and drink afterward."

"Sounds fun," was her dry reply. "When is this thing?"

"Curtain goes up at nine," said Richard. "Which means we have some time to kill don't we?"

"How?"

"We have a whole a casino downstairs with our names written all over it," said Richard quietly. "This casino is one of the great castles our esteemed Moira is said to own. So let's mingle."

* * *

Not long after they managed to settle into their rooms, the entire group found themselves in the casino's entertainment room. Richard's enigmatic friend, Bruce Wayne, provided them all with the means of acquiring dress formal and appropriate enough for the atmosphere. Both Richard and Logan wore tuxedoes fit for the Prince of Wales and Rachael and Shannon both looked most stunning to the male eye. Both Rachael and Shannon's hair donned a variant style which included very ornate chop sticks placed in their hair. The two joined Richard and Logan at a table just as an announcer made his appearance on the stage before the large crowd. He paused as a technician walked out and began giving last minute instructions. Rachael did a double take as she realized Logan was staring unwaveringly at her with his chin in his hands.

Her cheeks flushed "W-Would you like to stop staring at me?" He awkwardly shook his head.

"Uhhh…nnnooo, no..no….I'm good."

"Thank you for coming, ladies and gentlemen. And now, for your listening pleasure, here he is; Mr. Frank Sinatra Jr.!" And just like that, the man of hour walked out on stage with his microphone in hand. A cascade of applause accompanied Mr. Sinatra's entrance. He welcomed all present and began his act with a slow romantic song.

"Never saw the sun, shinning so bright!.....Never saw things…going so right, noticing the days hurrying by….when you're in love my HOW THEY FLY! Oh! Blue skies….smiling at meeeeeeee, nothing blue skies…..do I seeeeee…." Many a smiling faces gazed relaxed and contented at the famous singer.

"He's not nearly as good as his father," commented Rachael.

"What's the difference?" asked Logan. Rachael's eyes narrowed and she slowly shook her head. "I mean, they sound the same."

"Okay…..help a psycho killer, over that. Make fun of my profession, I can put up with that. But this…….I don't know you." Logan rolled his eyes. He turned his attention back to Richard.

"You see Kory anywhere?" He expected Richard's answer within seconds, thus he turned back to their team leader when he didn't receive one. Instead, he found Richard's gaze wholly captivated by a far off sight. They searched for what he was looking at and it wasn't long before they found it. With her new companions on either side, Kory entered the ballroom turning many heads and actually facilitating one onlooker to fall off his stool. The grins of his teammates went unnoticed to Richard, and truthfully, he would've hardly cared. Kory moved easily along the floor dressed in a deep peach silk dress with a cream sash draped around her waist. Her vibrant hair had also been curled in some places. Her fellow Geishas were also just as stunning. For some it seemed business as usual, as though this particular group routinely made such entrances. Logan exchanged amused glances with Rachael and Shannon. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

Richard smiled and quietly mumbled, "Oh yeah, me likey." After a moment he took up his cane and got to his feet. "Time to pretend I'm social."

"No! Richard!" Shouted Shannon. She looked to Rachael and the dark haired woman hurried up to him and caught Richard by the arm.

"I thought were trying to distance ourselves from Kory for the moment. You know, that 'cover' thing?"

"They know me; they don't know that Kory knows me. Now we make ourselves known and see how they react." He began to move away but Rachael held him back. "What?" he asked annoyed.

"Not yet," protested Rachael. "I know you well enough, and right now you're eyes are bigger than your brains." Richard merely arched a brow. It was not too far fetched to suggest that upon looking at Kory he suffered a bedazzled brain freeze. He nodded in defeat and allowed himself to be led back to their table. However, as soon as he laid eyes on the table he found one of them was missing.

"Where's Shannon?" Rachael glanced at him then noticed that their friend and teammate was indeed gone. They quickly walked up to Logan, who had been watching the show on stage, and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Where'd Shannon go?" He looked around curiously.

"Go? I dunno." Richard looked back at Kory's group nervously.

"Find her." And so the three of them fanned out in search of Shannon. Richard didn't necessarily think any of the Geishas took her; they were far too busy smothering Kory. The disadvantage they found themselves met with was the fact that casinos were built like intricate labyrinths for the simple purpose of keeping customers/chumps inside. A tight crowd around a craps table forced Richard to brush by a couple. The man's date sneaked a peak at him an interested smile painted on her lips. He smiled back but this didn't go unnoticed by her companion. He flashed Richard a particularly murderous glare, to which the crippled FBI agent replied, "Don't blame me, chicks dig the cane." Richard carefully displayed his badge and the guy returned to his game. Richard continued looking for his lost subordinate. That fact that Shannon was a little short hardly aided in Richard's efforts to see her over so many taller people. Finally he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he fished it out. Upon opening it he heard Logan's voice.

"Found her, table seven. You're not gonna believe this." Without saying a word, Richard slapped his phone shut and made his way to the designated coordinates. He found Logan leaning against a slot machine and looking at what he guessed was table seven. Logan nodded upon seeing Richard approach him then jerked his head over at the table.

"Check it out." Richard nearly chuckled. There sat Shannon before a blackjack dealer and a mountainous stack of chips close by. "Little Mrs. Industrious…" Richard studied her closely and noticed that her eyes never strayed from the cards before her. "Some people and their luck."

"She's gonna pass this time," said Richard.

Logan between him and table. "How do you-" He stopped when indeed he saw Shannon wave her hand at the dealer, telling him not to give her another card. The dealer drew for himself a face card and lost. Logan snorted and gave Richard a marveling smirk. "Okay, spill."

"She's counting," replied Richard simply. He left Logan with an open mouth and a whirlwind of confusion. Not long after Richard left Logan's presence, Rachael walked up to the bomb expert.

"Find her?"

"Eyes to the table," mumbled Logan. Rachael's mouth sagged open as she saw Shannon's smiling teeth bite her lower lip.

"No…way…"

"Uhhhh…..yeah way."

Richard slowly walked up behind Shannon just in time to her say "Hit me." The dealer placed a queen of hearts in front of her. Shannon's eyes moved along the various other cards on the table. Her mind quickly calculated the proper course of action and she opened her mouth to speak.

"Hit her," said Richard. Shannon's head snapped to her right. Lo and behold, there stood Richard. The dealer shifted his eyes from Richard to the actual player. Shannon, swallowing hard, turned back to her game.

"Uhh…uh yeah, hit me." The dealer did as he was told and Shannon won herself yet another hand. She had her chips arranged on small racks and stepped away from the table. "Look I-"

"Counter," whispered Richard. Shannon bit her lower lip nervously. "Funny thing about people like you; you have a gambling problem but you have the brain power to beat the house at its own game."

"I try to stay away from this town," defended Shannon. Her arms took a firmer hold of her loot. "I seem to be cursed with an ability to turn a bad unpredictable situation into a sure thing."

"If you see it as a curse," replied Richard. He could see she was afraid he would have her return or disperse her winnings. Even his yearly salary wasn't that great. "Go cash in, then find your way back to the table." She sent him a grateful nod and disappeared amongst the crowds. Rachael stepped up beside Richard and folded her arms.

"You're just going to let her do that?"

"Someone ever ask you the same thing when you watched me pop a few?" Richard than "re-highed" himself with two doses. Rachael's face housed displeasure at his act but it was fleeting. He checked his watched. "Oooh, twenty minutes to curtain." Richard shot a nod over at Logan, telling him to follow them out the door.

* * *

H.M.S. St. Albans………………….

A crowd of sailors and a few security personnel stood in the mess hall while its lone customer consumed an entire day's worth of food. Koma sat at a table silently eating all that was placed in front of her without pause. The captain, his X.O., and another lieutenant stood side by side on the other side of Koma's table. The captain stole a quick glance at his X.O., the lower officer could only shrug as their guest took more than her fill. The alien finally paused in her meal and looked up at the captain, looking a squirrel that just filled its cheeks for winter. She silently chuckled and swallowed the food in her mouth.

"It is not precisely what I am used to, but it'll do."

"Who are you?" asked the captain.

"Where is the nearest civilized continent?" asked Koma, totally ignoring the question.

"You haven't answered me."

"I did not feel a need to," said Koma. She placed her utensils down on either side of her plate. "You see…..I am entitled."

"To what?'

"To what I am owed after what seemed like a lifetime of darkness."

"How did you get on my ship?" demanded the captain. "I've showed you some hospitality because you were in need, but now I think I deserve some answers." Koma chewed her last bite while she stared up at him and swallowed. "Who are you?"

"No one you need concern yourself with…….yet." Two sailors looked at one another in back ground. The captain stepped forward and leaned forward on the table. He and Koma now shared a staring contest.

"This is a frigate of her Majesty's Navy, and I am her captain. We don't bow down to terrorists. If you have something to say you can say it to me." Koma smiled. The guards all around her stayed ever vigilant. Her eyes wandered down to a spoon by her left hand. She took the spoon into her hands and began playing with it.

"Let me tell you a little something about the way I think." The circle around her closed slightly. "I believe that the powerful govern only by divine right, and that the lesser people are chosen to follow by destiny. When they refuse to submit because of either bravado or arrogance….." She then enveloped the spoon into her hand like a piece of paper. "They cease to be subjects, and are expendable." A barely noticeable ambiance of purple light emitted trough the cracks between her fingers. The captain narrowed his eyes.

"You should know, I have faced my share of threats."

"Have you?"

"Yes, and I usually win."

Koma opened her hand, and the spoon had been neatly reduced to a perfect sphere of stainless steel. "This…I can see." Then, without a second's hesitation, Koma threw the metal ball threw his head and out through the metal hull of the ship. The captain fell backward like a falling tree. The security on hand drew their weapons like grease lightening. Koma could only smile, classifying their actions as nothing more than 'cute'. She shifted her eyes to each of the sailors now guarding her. It was clear to them, even before the sudden death of their captain that she was not of a peaceful nature. To their growing apprehension a soft purple glow appeared from within her eyes. A few wary sailors backed away slightly, especially when a similar glow began to surround her hands.

Had a far off onlooker been observing the slowly moving ship, they would have seen a bright purple flash suddenly fill the windows.

Inside the mess hall dozens of fallen sailors lay sprawled on the floor, smoke rising from their charred corpses. Scorch marks and ruined furnishings littered the entire room. Koma and everything immediately around her remained completely untouched. She picked up a napkin and delicately dabbed her lips.

"That was most delicious, thank you."

* * *

RAINBOW GARDENS HALL………………….

The entire building was booked solid for the performance of the evening. Half an hour before the curtain was to go up people had begun filling into the main hall. The whole room, large as it was, was a buzz of chatter and chitchat. Richard, Logan, Rachael, and Logan filled into their seats which were about six rows away from the stage. Most of the hall was nearly full by the time the "guests of honor" finally made their appearance. Not surprising, the Geishas claimed the front row seats specially reserved for them. Kory, as surreptitiously as she could, twisted her head around until she found where Richard was sitting. He smiled at her and gave her a quick wink. Kory smiled back but it was a beam of nervousness. Rachael, Logan, and Shannon sent her encouraging looks and hand signals. Kory's eyes wandered skyward when the lights began dimming signaling to all that the show was beginning. Two large spotlights moved over the seated crowd and rested on the curtain. After a moment the burgundy curtain parted down the middle, allowing passage for a single individual. Ever so slowly, Moira the Enchantress made her onto the stage. She wore a deep red kimono and held a relaxed smile. No applause greeted her entrance but that did not point to a lack of interest or respect. Shannon, not wanting to think of her brief time among the Geishas, shied away from looking up at Moira. The magician stopped barely a foot from the edge of the stage and smirked.

"Greetings." She laced her fingers together behind her back and paced the stage. "You all made it, I'm so thrilled. Tonight's performance will surely be everything you hoped it would." Her eyes roamed over the line of Geishas sitting before her until they rested on Kory. They stared at each other for a moment. "Centuries ago………man feared magic. It is only natural for us to fear what we don't understand." She returned her gaze to the general audience. "Am I in possession of super natural powers?" A crooked grin played over her face. "Well….I suppose that will be for you to decide. So!" She clapped her hands together and kept them thus. "Sit back, relax, and don't let your eyes stray away from me. There is magic to behold." She released her hands and threw them forward. At once two pure white doves sprung her hands and flew up into the rafters. A wave of applause erupted at the simple gesture. Richard looked around at the easily pleased crowd. Moira smiled broadly.

"Well then, let's begin!" Moira began as most magicians do, with minor tricks involving making things disappear and then reappear. She somehow transported items in people's pockets far across the room. Once or twice she performed a marvelous feat involving a volunteer. At the beginning of another trick an assistant wheeled a table on to the stage. Moira opened a case upon the table and drew an old gun. She held it up to the audience.

"This, ladies and gentlemen, is a civil war flintlock pistol. It was ideal for self defense and dueling. Now I don't know about the rest of you but when it comes to dueling I am much more partial to rubber bands." Bouts of laughter cascaded over the audience. Moira nodded and pointed to Logan. "You sir!" He looked to his left and right and then behind him. "Yes, you……come join me if you please." Hesitantly, Logan rose from his seat and walked up on stage. The beautiful magician played with the weapon as he approached. She smiled sensually at him. "So, have you ever shot anyone before?"

"Uhh….ac-actually I have." Moira arched a brow. Curious chatter erupted among the crowds. Moira, now looking impressed, circled.

"Really? Have you now? What do you do for a living?"

"I'm an FBI agent."

"Well that is just fabulous; we have a man in uniform ladies and gentlemen!" She then held out the pistol to him. "I have some news for you, special agent. You….are going to shoot me." Logan's eyes shifted about uneasily.

"Say what now?"

"You've shot someone before; doing it again shouldn't be too hard for you."

"IIIIII uhhh….I really don't think I can," said Logan. He held the old pistol in his hands.

"Oh it's quite easy; you simply ready the hammer and then pull the trigger." Logan, looking down at the weapon and with his mouth ajar, shook his head. "Come on Garfield…" Logan looked at her, astounded. Rachael and Richard exchanged looks. "Are you or are you not man enough."

"How do you know my name?"

"I'm magic, now shoot me." Logan narrowed his eyes at her. Her smile, almost an evil one widened. "Shoot me…" Logan found himself staring into her bright blue eyes. "Shoot me, Garfield." His finger pulled back the hammer. "Shoooooot meeeeee…" Her silken voice flowed like a Christmas jingle. Logan pointed the gun at her, aligning the sight wither head. His finger teetered on the trigger only applying a slightly amount of pressure.

"SHOOT ME!" Logan pulled the trigger; a loud pop filled the room causing everyone to flinch madly. Moira staggered back so violently that she hit the floor. Logan dropped the pistol and rushed to her side. Moira's head hung limp for a moment. Then she looked up at him and smiled. Between her teeth was the bullet. She spit it out like a wad of chewing gum. "Good shot." A massive resonance of clapping filled the hall as Logan helped the magician to her feet. "Thank you Special Agent Logan, you are a man among men." Logan gladly left the stage as fast as he could. As soon as he happily planted himself back in his seat Richard cleared his throat and leaned over.

"Need a change of underwear?"

"Shut up."

"For my next trick, my friends, I will require yet another volunteer." She trekked around the stage, looking at the people closest to her. She finally chose someone appealing to her and she pointed at him. "You, what is your name?"

"Tad."

"Tad? What kind of a name is that?" she asked with a giggle. Tad shifted uneasily. No doubt this was not the first time he received some type of ridicule for his unusual name. She waved a hand at him, beckoning him to come up on stage. Logan already felt sorry for the guy. Moira shook his hand, giving him a warm welcome. "So, Tad, have you ever been hypnotized before?" He laughed raucously at her ridiculous question.

"Oh come **on**, you're joking right?"

"I never joke about my work, 007."

"Okay fine, the answer is 'no'." Moira's assistant brought two chairs which quickly became occupied.

"Well, my good Tad," said Moira dusting herself as she sat. "Believe it or not, you enter trance on a daily basis without even realizing it. Every time you, quote, 'space out', you're just staring off into space without having a single linear thought. Whenever you stare out the window in a car while the trees just pass by….it happens without you even realizing it." Richard kept a careful eye on her. Kory also remained attentive of their main suspect. "You don't think of it as odd because it's simply a natural state the mind shifts in and out everyday."

"Look, I don't really believe this stuff."

"Oh that's perfect," exclaimed Moira. "The skeptics always make the best subjects. But before we begin I just want to get to know you better." A few scattered chuckles echoed throughout the hall. Tad appeared unsure. "It'll help things move along easier."

"If you say so."

"You live here?" she asked politely.

"Uhh yeah, have for years now."

"You like it?"

He shrugged. "The heat kind of gets to me sometimes. Other than that I like it a lot actually."

"And you know Hawaii's not too far away either," said Moira casually. He grinned and nodded.

"Yeah, been there done that." Moira laughed also.

"Are you a Bond fan?" Tad nodded offhandedly. "You quirked a smile when I made that 007 joke a moment ago, so I guess I can take you for a fan who has much reverence."

"You can say that?"

Moira nodded. "Very well, then here's a question that's been nagging me for quite some time now: who is the better Bond, Sean Connery or Daniel Craig?" Tad's brow furrowed seriously.

"That's a good question. I don't know, I think-"

"Sleep!" At once his eyes rolled back and his head slumped forward. Various audience members glanced at one another wondrously. Moira, smirking quite maniacally, rose to her feet.

"Now, my friends, was that magic?" She pushed his limp head back against the seat. "Of course it was; the magic of mind over matter. My eager volunteer here is not necessarily in state deep enough for extreme entertainment, but it'll do." She knelt down beside him. "Oh Taaaad, anybody home?" He mumbled inanely. "So Tad, I figured since you don't seem to be too busy at the moment, maybe you and I could provide our audience with some amusement."

Logan shook his head and whispered. "You talk about creepy. Not enough bars of gold in Knox to let her inside my head."

"This stage stuff is a little different than the real thing," said Rachael quietly.

"But still so delightful," chimed Richard. Moira had her poor captive perform all manner of humiliating acts and death defying feats. Her sticking a large needle straight through his hand left some of the light hearted fainting. When she finally did wake him he cast a perplexed look around the hall and found that he was missing a shoe, no doubt a detailing concerning his last act.

"Here, you might want this," said Moira handing him his shoe. Tad took it casting a confused frown at the piece of footwear. Finally he put two and two together and the man, being a good sport, began chuckling and nodding. Moira stood aside and afforded him the proceeding round of applause. Once he took his seat and the clapping had calmed back to silence, Moira looked down at him. "You're a man among men; you really can't put a price on bravery." She turned away and at her beckoning her assistance wheeled out a tall box and a covered rack.

While never allowing her eyes to stray from the stage, Kory leaned over to Martha. "What is she doing now?"

"Just watch, she doesn't do it often but it's her favorite trick."

Moira stood between the two props and took on a most serious look. "Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight you've watched me perform the impossible……..but are you prepared to sit back and watch me perform the unthinkable?" She shifted her narrowing eyes around the nearest audience members. "Well, you're about to. You see, I enjoy sharing the experience with my audience as can be noted by the number of volunteers tonight. My last illusion is no exception-And!....." She added quite suddenly. "I should warn any of you who are bounding to shoot their hands into the air, with this illusion your very lives are at stake." Despite Moira's warning, a flurry of hands extended into the air. She comically paced about the stage looking around at her sea of willing and eager assistants. Finally she pointed to the Geisha sitting beside Kory. Martha might have squealed at the top of her lungs and hugged Kory had the realization that she'd been picked not totally paralyzed her. With the assistance of her friends and even Kory she found herself on her feet and soon up on the stage. She and Moira warmly greeted each other though Martha looked more flushed than anything.

"Welcome, Martha, I'm glad to see you're enjoying yourself." Richard, resting his chin on the top of his cane narrowed his eyes. "Are you ready?" Martha nodded eagerly. Moira smiled and opened the tall box. "Very well, then step inside." Martha trotted into the box and Moira promptly closed the door. "I know what you're all thinking; 'oh here we go, she's gonna make her disappear then reappear big whoop'." Moira placed a hand upon the covered rack. "Maybe I'm exaggerating your thoughts, maybe I'm not. If I'm not, then you have another thing coming." She threw off the cover and the audience saw the rack contained an intimidating arsenal of medieval weaponry. Moira took up a long dagger and walked in front of the box. She craned her neck around to the dead silent audience and smirked. "I bet the rest of you are glad you didn't raise your hand." Without a second thought Moira plunged the long knife into the box. A few people, excluding Richard, flinched at the sound it made. Even Rachael's hand reflexively jumped on top of Logan's.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not like I look forward to putting someone's life in jeopardy. Truth is…." Now Moira selected a broad sword from the rack. She flashed the more horrified onlookers a wink. "I couldn't hurt a fly." Whirling around, Moira forced the tip of the sword through one side of the container and out the other. By this time the color in Kory's face was nearly drained.

Moira giggled like a school girl as she reached for another sword. "Ohhhhh I can hear the water cooler chit chat already; 'Moira, doesn't she have a heart'?" She walked around behind the box. "Of course I do." Like a jump scene in a horror movie the sharp point of the sword suddenly sprang out the front. A smiling Moira peered around the side of the box. "Question is……does **she** still have one?" Rachael turned her gaze to Richard. He slowly met hers then just as gradually turned back to the spectacle before them. Moira's eyes now trained to the last weapon at her disposal; an enormous and extremely sharp looking double headed axe.

"Any of you considering calling security yet?" She let the gargantuan weapon rest atop her shoulder. "You probably should." With a mighty heave Moira swung the axe around, slicing through the box completely and landing upon the stage. A resounding clang filled the hall as the edge of the axe stuck firmly in the stage. Smoothly, the top half of the box slid off the bottom along the downward diagonal cut. When the minor amount of dust cleared, many astounded eyes saw that the box was empty. She opened what was left of the door to show that her volunteer wasn't simply lying at the bottom in a pool of blood.

"Well would you look at that," mused the illusionist. "I made her disappear!" She looked around the crowd then stopped and gestured to someone at the very back. "Martha!" Eight hundred pairs of eyes simultaneously swiveled around to find none other than Martha, unharmed and beaming. "When'd you get here?" Richard remained seated during the resulting standing ovation and thunderous applause. Moira took a deep bow then melodramatically shot up with her hands high in the air. Kory, feeling the contagious nature of the crowd's jubilance, clapped just as happily.

* * *

Minutes later, Moira sat in her dressing room changing out of her performing attire and back into regular clothes. She removed a bit of her make up then reapplied it in some areas. She heard a series of delicate knocks on her door. She smiled as she knew precisely who it was.

"Come in." The door opened and in stepped Kory. Moira turned in her chair and smiled at her. "Well hello there."

"Hello," returned Kory. "Marika informed me that you wanted to speak with me."

"Yes." She could see that one of Kory's feet remained within the door's threshold. "Well come on in then, don't be shy." Kory took the final steps inside and closed the door behind her. Moira looked about then quickly retrieved a folding chair from under a pile of discarded costumes. "Sorry, I don't normally have visitors in here."

"Oh, think nothing of it," replied Kory. She took the seat Moira provided. "I am curious though, why did you wish to see me?"

"I heard the Geishas were close to accepting another into our sisterhood. Marika has simply been gushing about you." Kory's eyebrows rose. "Oh yeah, she's only known you for a little while but you have truly grown on her."

Kory shook her head. "I…have only acted as I normally do."

"And that's what makes you so endearing," said Moira with a wink. "I wanted to see if she was right about your polite speech, your humility, and your bright green eyes. And you didn't disappoint." Kory could only smile. Moira kept her silence, wanting to hear more from the red heard.

"That is very nice of you to say. When the Geishas came to my attention, I was very interested in finding out more."

"And now you're one of us," said Moira. "Welllll, almost one of us."

"Yes, Marika mentioned the….'proper initiations'. I suppose you cannot tell me what they entail." Moira grinned and shook her head.

"Wish I could help, but that would spoil the fun. You'll hear this constantly before it happens, but I went through the same set of trials myself. Trust me; none of them involve dressing in a hotdog suit." Kory would have chuckled except that the documentary on hotdogs she recently viewed suddenly became fresh in her mind. Moira then stood up. "Come with me, I want to show you something."

---AAA---

Soon after leaving her dressing room, Moira led Kory out on to the stage of the hall. Kory's round eyes roamed over the seemingly endless sea of empty seats. Moira stood more or less in the same spot as when she gave her performance earlier that evening.

"Intimidating isn't it?"

Kory nodded in agreement. "The perspective is certainly different."

"I guess entering the university life and joining our ranks can have the same effect." Kory folded her arms and turned in place.

"Moira, I have been flooded with nothing but luxury and sweet words. You are one of the wealthiest people in the world and I am only a freshman who has not yet even been formally inducted into the Geishas. Please, tell me the real reason you wished to see me." Moira's lower lip twitched slightly. "If there is nothing more then I will ask for your leave."

"Kory, I asked to see you because I believe there is potential in you to one day take Marika's place." Kory's expression grew puzzled.

"Her place……you mean her position?"

"All in good time, now as for you and me…" She placed a hand on Kory's shoulder. At the same time Moira's other hand covertly left her pocket and found its way behind her back. Her fingers opened and a tear shaped pendant dangled between them. "I just want us to get to know each other."

* * *

Just as the invitation promised, for everyone who managed a stage seat, a dinner gala awaited after the performance. A team of classical musicians provided the mood and music for the large gathering. Richard loaded a plate full of orderves and returned to the table Rachael, Shannon, and Logan were sitting at. They looked away from their modest helpings to Richard's small feast.

"Little snack?"

"Being bored out of my skull makes me hungry."

"Oh come on," said Shannon. "I thought that last one was pretty damn good."

"Trapdoor trick," mumbled Richard. "Textbook case is what it is."

"Yeah well, there aren't any on that stage." Richard stopped eating and looked up at her. She raised her eyebrows as though saying, "Figure that one out". He merely shrugged and swallowed his food.

"She definitely arrogant and loves the spotlight on her," said Rachael. "But does she really have anything to do with the Geishas? Other than that she used to be one?" Logan nodded agreeably.

"When Martha went up on stage she didn't have to introduce herself," said Richard. "Moira already knew who she was, which means…….." He paused. They all waited for him to finish his point. He shrugged. "It means something important; I'll give you a ring when I think of it."

"We should contact Kory, see what she's learned," said Shannon.

"Good idea," said Richard. "I'll get right on it." For the second time that night, Richard stood up and began walking, or rather quickly limping, over to where Kory and the other Geishas were sitting. Rachael made no effort to stop him this time, deciding that he was going to make himself known sooner or later. Richard, like a heat seeking missile, homed in on the round table at which they sat. A waiter carrying a tray of full champagne glasses would eventually find that he lost one en route. The determined agent quickly drained the glass of its contents then let it fall into the dirty dishes bin being wheeled around. Kory was the first to spot him as he approached and her heart came to a sudden and screeching halt.

"Hi!" The chatter at the table ceased. Those who had met Richard before found their social smiles quickly fading away. Marika set her silverware down and cleared her throat.

"Agent Grayson, this is…….unexpected."

"Frequent flyer miles kicked in. I had the choice of either Vegas or claiming a fifty-two inch HD flat screen. Already missed the big game so I decided to come here," said the caustic agent.

"Well how…lucky..for you," replied Marika uneasily. "We've already answered your questions so I have to wonder if there's an alternate reason for you interrupting our meal."

He nodded. "As a matter of fact there is, I'd like to talk to Kory for a moment." Kory's eyes closed in dread. She hoped beyond all capacity for hope that this was part of some intricate plan and not just another in a long list of selfish acts. Martha glanced at Kory then turned a raised brow at Richard.

"How do you know Kory?" Indeed many of the Geishas, Marika especially, wished to know the answer to that question.

"Old friends," he said quickly. "Her old boyfriend's second cousin's roommate used to have this accountant that I rented a movie with once." A strained and highly awkward silence washed over the table. "Then I had to arrest her for growing pot in her basement-"

"Very well!" Said Kory rising to her feet. She sent Richard and her company a weak smile. "I will speak with you."

"You know you don't have to," said Martha. Kory was well of that.

"I know, I return shortly." Kory soon left in Richard's company.

Marika stared after him but also spoke to Martha. "What's he doing here?"

"I don't know."

The head Geisha bobbed her head irritably. "Find out will you."

---AAA---

The pair finally stopped when they came to a bar. Kory rapidly ordered a sparkling water which to her relief arrived very promptly. She took a huge gulp of the bubbling liquid and turned an irked look at Richard.

"Please tell me that served a purpose and was not just for your own amusement."

"Come on, does that sound like something I would do?" Kory's expression remained unchanged. "Okay, it does. Sorry. But I needed to talk to you before I made my next move."

"Which is?"

"Gonna speak with Moira."

Kory nodded while staring off into space. "I see, well I wish you luck."

"What did she want to see you about?" asked Richard. Kory was about to take another sip but halted. "I saw you go back stage; right after Marika whispered something to you." Kory set the glass down, defeated. "So what happened?"

"She…..only wished to meet me and get to know me, as she put it."

"Really?" asked Richard, giving her a semi-suspicious grin. Kory now looked him in the eye and nodded.

"Yes, that is all I promise you." There was no doubt she was telling the truth, although Victor tended to be a better person to person lie detector. Kory drew her new bank card from a small purse slung over her shoulder. "They also seem to have extraordinary financial connections. Even when all that I am wearing has been purchased there is still a substantial amount remaining on that card." Richard quickly jotted the number of card down on a napkin then stowed it away.

"I'll have a 'computer' friend look into this." He jerked his head back at her table. "Better get back, you're new pals may get even more suspicious." Kory turned away and began returning but she stopped and looked back at him.

"How much longer must I keep this up?"

"As long as it takes," replied Richard. "But…" Kory's eyes perked up. "If you really can't stand it….if you really want out, we can get you out." The alien red head considered his offer for a tense moment. When she came to a decision she shook her head.

"Thank you, Richard. I shall remain at my post for the time being." She made certain that there wasn't a single Geisha in sight then after quickly pecking him on the cheek ran back to her table. Richard stood balancing on his cane with a smile.

"The luckiest and unluckiest person on earth."

* * *

Like many other things in life, Moira elected to dine alone most of the time. She sat at a table within the confines of a penthouse suit high above everyone else. She silently consumed her lamb while her eyes roamed over a raving review complimenting her show. She had almost finished the article entirely when a knock broke her concentration and a voice on the other side said;

"Room service." The magician placed her initialed napkin on the table and strutted over to the door. She opened it and immediately turned away.

"You're late," she said curtly. She sat back down and turned the page of her periodical. "An artist can hardly be expected to live off an appetizer alone." He took away her empty plate, replaced it with a covered platter, and she blindly slipped him a hundred dollar tip. "Don't thank me, you probably need it." She lifted away the silver dome cover but instead of finding her main course she saw the only thing on the clean platter was a shiny FBI badge. She picked the symbol of authority up in her slender fingers then finally looked Richard square in the eye. He gladly pocketed her tip.

"Thanks, my paycheck sucks."

She handed the badge back to him. "Yours I assume."

"Good guess," said Richard as he took it. He juggled it in the air for a moment before returning it to its home in his breast pocket. "I need to ask you about something." Moira snickered while taking a sip of wine.

"I'll bet." She looked up at him again and with a cat grin narrowed her eyes. Slowly she pointed a finger at him. "You were at my show tonight; row seven, seat thirty-two."

"Yup?"

"Enjoy it?'

"I've seen better," said Richard, looking around her room. Moira ignored his comment as banter. Richard was a person of annoying persistence and it was clear that Moira would not get a moment's peace until she indulged him the slightest bit. With an aggravated sigh, she turned in her chair and crossed her legs.

"So, what do you wish to speak with me about agent….."

"Richard Grayson, and it's about a cute little college student who set off a bomb in a mall cafeteria." Moira folded her arms. "She killed herself and almost took a friend of mine with her."

"And this means what to me?" asked Moira.

"This girl, Emily Regan, was a member of your super sorority. In fact she was more than just a member, she was the poster child: excellent grades, tons of school spirit, a knockout, and probably a heart of silver and gold."

"I knew that one of our sisters had tragically passed away, I didn't know the circumstances," said Moira quietly. Richard placed his cane under arm in order to access his capsule of pills. While he searched for them, a delivery boy entered the room and placed a clipboard before Moira. She signed it and gladly accepted the package he'd brought with him. Richard watched him leave, making sure he was out of earshot before he began.

"You know, in my experience…" He administered his correct dosage. "I find that magicians are a lot like actors, in that they're trained liars. The lie they present isn't the bad type, it's contrary to who they really are; it's all an act and it's all a joke. But it does make it easier to pull off the other kind of deceit." Moira smirked. "And that really get's on my nerves." Moira let her eyes fall away from him for a moment. She then snapped her fingers and began rummaging around in her purse. "What're you doing?" When Moira's hand came back into view, it was holding a full deck of cards. She stood up, fanned the cards out before him and waited.

"Well?"

"Well what?" said Richard.

"Take a card."

He rolled his eyes most noticeably. "Are you serious?"

"Do I look like someone whose not?" Her voice reached that soft silken pitch again. Richard snatched a card out of the bunch and studied it. It was an eight of spades. Moira gave him a generous amount of time to absorb the card in his mind then took it away from him. She placed the deck back on the table and walked toward a waste basket.

"This where you magically guess what I picked?"

Moira smiled back at him. "Not exactly." She held the card over a lighter and set the card aflame. Before the flickering fire could reach her fingers she dropped it in the waste basket and dusted her hands. "Oh well….guess we'll never know, will we?" She stepped behind a foldable stall and began throwing off her daytime clothes. When she reemerged she wore a deep red bathrobe and calmly sat back down at her table. "I'm sorry to say you won't find much in the way of answers here, agent Grayson. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. And my sisters are fall to delicate to stand the likes of you."

Richard checked the time. "They've got another day here, so do I. I'll find out something. Maybe it'll be how you keep them believing the Peter Pan delirium of staying giddy for the rest of your life and that fuzzy kittens and puppy dogs make the world go round." He turned his back on her and made his way to the door. Moira waited for just the right moment then in a clear voice said;

"St. Augustine Cemetery, Gotham City." Richard slowly twisted his head around at her. "That's where your wife and son are buried." Richard's mouth parted unnoticeably and his hand slipped off the door knob. Moira opened the package the delivery boy had brought her and from it drew a crisp eight of spades.

"This your card?"

* * *

The holidays are around so hopefully that means more time to update…….If I'm not too lazy that is. XD Seriously, I'll try to get the next one out faster than this. If ever there was a chapter to jump start the plot it was this one so tell me what you think. Laters!


	7. Dances with Geishas

Annnnnnd here is the continuation of the tip to "Sin City!" Hope everyone had a happy New Year. This and all my other stuff would have come out sooner but I had to go and get sick. Bummer. But I'm better and I've updated! And let me say thank you to all you kind reviewers; **Tsukikage1213, BonitaChickia, Cartoonfire, Tennisgal456, ThEnAmEsGiGi, Realfanficts, ALittleMind**. Much obliged all! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Seven

Dances with Geishas

Richard checked the time. "They've got another day here, so do I. I'll find out something. Maybe it'll be how you keep them believing the Peter Pan delirium of staying giddy for the rest of your life and that fuzzy kittens and puppy dogs make the world go round." He turned his back on her and made his way to the door. Moira waited for just the right moment then in a clear voice said;

"St. Augustine Cemetery, Gotham City." Richard slowly twisted his head around at her. "That's where your wife and son are buried." Richard's mouth parted unnoticeably and his hand slipped off the door knob. Moira opened the package the delivery boy had brought her and from it drew a crisp eight of spades.

"This your card?"

* * *

BRUCE'S SUMMER HOME…………

Toni, her mouth covered by a light blue mask, held her out her hand so that an assistant could place a sterilized instrument into it. She worked over her patient with extreme attentiveness. Her eyes glanced up at a video monitor showing the new internals mingling with organic tissue.

"Temporal lobe?"

"Synapses are normal," replied the nurse.

"It's a relief and a hindrance that he no longer has a blood pressure. Dr. Charles, if you please…." A young black scientist took Toni's place and began making the final adjustments. Toni, exhausted and almost entirely withdrawn, took her leave of the private O.R. She placidly pulled her mask off as she walked back up the stairs to decontamination. As she made the short trek back upstairs her mind wandered to the past two days. What a surreal experience it had been. Victor would never be the same again, and yet she looked forward to watching him conquer whatever would stand before him. He never was one to quit so easily, why should this time be any different?

When the elevator doors opened she was not in the least bit surprised to find Alfred waiting for her with a tray of tea and coffee. She smiled and nodded as she stepped off the lift.

"Alfred, there is no other like you," she said taking a cup of tea.

"Well so Master Wayne tells me."

"By the way…..where is he, Mr-I mean…Bruce. I haven't seen him all evening." Alfred smiled weakly and shrugged.

"Master Wayne is uhhh….typically busy this time a day. Life of a business man, you know." Toni accepted his excuse, partially because of her fatigue. She nodded, sipping her tea.

"Luckily I don't."

"How is Mr. Stone?"

"Well 'out of the woods' isn't quite what I would say but….almost, for the most part. I'm glad my part is done; now it's all up to Sarah." Alfred blinked a few times. Toni shook her head. "Uhh Dr. Sarah Charles from S.T.A.R. labs. She and I co-developed the procedure." She looked down, as though seeing the ongoing procedure through the floor. "Never once back at Harvard Med did I think I would need a mechanical engineer in my O.R."

"Life's full of surprises."

"Don't I know it," replied Toni. She gulped the rest of her tea. "Thank you Alfred, anything to eat?"

He smiled broadly and nodded back toward the kitchen. "Yeah, right this way."

* * *

VEGAS…………

Richard stared out the high window of his Vegas suite. Moira's words still rang through his mind like a set of tubular bells. Rachael, Logan, and Shannon all sat around with their mouths slightly ajar.

"How could she know that?" Richard heard Logan's voice say. "Seriously, how could she possibly know that?" Richard turned away from the window and looked almost casual. "You don't find that a little odd?"

"Someone told her," said Richard. They all looked at one another as though is explanation was something anti-climactic. "I don't see why you're all so eager to believe that she has actual magic powers. She's a human being."

"We know," assured Rachael. "Its just human nature to be easily mystified. Why do you think magicians get work in the first place?"

"Okay fine she's not magic," said Shannon. "Still begs one to wonder who told her."

Richard, using his cane for balance, stepped away from the window. "Someone who knew we were coming and enough about every one of us, same goes for how she knew your name," he said pointing at Logan. Richard sat down beside Shannon. "What I'm worried about is if she knows about Kory."

"Even if she doesn't we outta get her out, sooner rather than later," said Logan.

Richard nodded. "This doesn't happen often but I think you've nailed it." Logan gave him a sarcastic 'would be' smirk. "I'll tell her tonight, we'll finalize it when we get home. Let Danielle know she's going to have come up with some sort of bogus reason for Kory not staying."

"Any suggestions?" asked Shannon.

"Death or disease, those seem to be the real tear jerkers." Rachael shook her head. "What time is it?"

"It's nearly seven," said Rachael. "You know I can't imagine why I'm continually surprised by what comes out of your mouth sometimes." Richard shrugged.

"Me either, I would've thought by now we would've known each other well enough to be friends on facebook." Rachael narrowed her eyes. "Come on, don't be sad. Wouldn't be gloomy at the other show."

"Show?"

"That dance those Geishas are doing, Moira will be there."

"And you want us to spy on her like her at her act," said Logan. "That didn't go really well as far as staying undercover."

"Won't be a problem," said Richard. "We're not actually going to be there." They regarded him curiously.

* * *

As time went on, Kory found socializing with her 'sisters' to not only be easier but more and more enjoyable. After the diner gala, they had returned to their hotel and spent the rest of the night talking excitedly and enjoying a seemingly endless courtesy of room service. Being royalty on her homeworld, Kory was well acquainted with many servants and the layers upon layers of makeup. Yet always she had Galfore's voice telling her to never forget her humility and her honor. Rachael had also been kind enough to explain the basics of earthen makeup, but she never did on a scale presented to her by the Geishas.

As soon as Kory was seated on the couch her hands and feet were taken captive by skillful therapists. Before she knew it every single one of her finger and toe nails were sharpened and polished to a high mirror shine. Kory found the experience almost pleasantly mind numbing. Everything and anything was completely taken care of. Indeed it seemed that not a single one of them wanted for anything.

Martha, laughing gleefully as she walked from one talking group to another, found Kory and plopped down beside her.

"Kory!" She exclaimed. "Having fun?"

"Mm hmm," replied the red head sincerely.

"Glad to hear to it, oh hey, don't forget, you're gonna get to see us in action tonight." Kory's face brightened.

"Oh! You are referring to your act."

"Yes, and remember, soon you're going to be part of it." Kory's eyes turned slightly and saw Marika off in the distance over Martha's shoulder. As though she had heard what Martha said, Marika nodded and pointed excitedly at Kory. The only thing that managed to snap Kory back to reality was the buzzing in her pocket. She quickly retrieved her cell phone and saw she had a text message. Giving a quick read, Kory flipped her phone shut and stood up from the couch.

"Something wrong?" asked Martha.

"Oh no, nothing is wrong. I am simply in need of some fresh air." Martha nodded and giddily skipped away to another group of girls. Kory made sure she took a room key with her and made her way downstairs. The message she received instructed her to meet outside near the pool. However once she finally walked outside she saw that there was no one present except a wandering bum. The alien cocked an eyebrow at the absence.

"Kory." A voice whispered. Her eyes refocused on the bum as she realized he had spoken to her.

"E-Excuse me?"

He drew closer, much to her discomfort. He then yanked at his beard and Kory saw that it was fake. "It's me."

"Richard?" She said. The alien princess then began a near futile battle against a wave of giggle fits. "W-W-What are you wearing?"

"It's a disguise," he said casually. "Why, you don't like it?"

"I think it is very becoming."

Richard rolled his eyes and ripped off the face beard. "Great, how you doing?" he asked. Kory held her arms and shrugged.

"I am fine. They are all very accommodating and most friendly. Tonight I am going to watch them perform as authentic Geishas." Richard nodded but he did so with apprehension. Kory dutifully read his body language and was not pleased with what she saw. "Richard?"

"Kory, we need to get you out."

"But…why?"

"Moira knows too much, we're not sure if she knows about you but she has enough info on the rest of us to put the plan and you in danger. The sooner we pull you out the better." Kory's face gradually fell as did her gaze to the ground. "I'm sorry if…you know you made friends with some of them, but this has to be done."

"I can do this Richard," said Kory.

Richard rubbed his eyes. "Kory, I have no doubt that you can. That's not the point. What I'm saying is that Moira may or may not have made you. Now I'm definitely willing to risk a rookie or two on that, maybe even Shannon, but not you."

"Richard please, let me stay." He folded his arms. She was almost pleading with him.

"You haven't been with them for more than a few days; you really like them that much?" Kory now crossed her arms and turned away sharply. "Come on, you really expect me to believe that someone like you, in two days, got used to be waited on hand and foot?"

"It is not uncommon to me," she whispered.

"Right, because you used to be a teen princess forever ago." Suddenly Kory whirled around with a highly irate look in her eyes.

"Do you simply not understand?!" Richard backed somewhat when she took two bounding steps toward him. "I do not wish to leave."

"Really?"

"Really," she repeated. Richard and Kory looked at one another stiffly. Kory fought back tears and turned away. She drew her key and was about to slip it into the slot.

"So I'll put an 'X' on our flying date shall I," said Richard. She looked back at him. He had pulled off the rest of his disguise and was leaning against the fence that surrounded the pool. He pushed off the fence and balanced on his cane, and then jerked his head toward the top of the building. "Your friends are waiting." Richard hobbled away, somehow dodging a few kids and their mother on their way to the pool. Kory waited until he was out of sight then let herself back in.

Richard met Shannon and Rachel back in the parking lot. Rachel stood up straight when she saw him nearing. "How'd it go?" Richard didn't reply. He opened his door, tossed his cane in the back and slammed the door shut after himself.

"Not well," muttered Shannon. They joined him inside the car and Richard began driving back to their lodging. He gave them the abridged version of what happening and both girls had the immense urge to throw the "I-told-you-so" lecture at him. Shannon was the first to take the plunge.

"I warned you about them," she told Richard. "I mean….Rachael warned you about them. I told you not to leave her alone with them!" Richard drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. He was hardly in the mood for a verbal thrashing. Rachael kept glancing at him. Finally she did fully look at him.

"Did you explain the danger to her?"

"Yes Rachael, I did." Shannon rested fully against the back seat.

"Maybe we could shanghai her or something?" That idea was not what one would call popular, even as Shannon merely said it in jest. Rachel stared out the window and sighed.

"Well we can't just leave her."

"Oh yes we can," said Richard.

"What?!" The two exclaimed together.

"Kory wants to stay? Fine. We'll let her stay."

Rachael shook her head. "I know you upset with her answer but that still no reason to get revenge on her."

"I'm not," said Richard. "I don't care what species someone is, guilt is a powerful thing. Sooner or later she'll be back. Besides, there's a reason why I always have her with me when I question someone-"

"So you don't get bored?" said Shannon.

Richard looked at her in the rearview mirror. "How cynical of you. But besides that, she has a natural ability to judge someone's character. Eventually Moira will make a mistake and Kory will catch it. We just need to be ready."

* * *

GEISHA STEAKHOUSE…………..

Can it be surprising that the establishment where the Geishas would be performing their show would be a fine restaurant which has more or less been named after them?

Of course not!

In fact by now it was almost expected that a group such as they would be entitled to many lavish opportunities. The restaurant began as a smaller sushi bar but thanks to a large donation by a certain illusionist, the place was able to add a respectable ballroom with box seating. Kory was glad that she didn't have to dress up nearly as nicely for this occasion as she had for Moira's act and the dinner afterward. Tonight some casual wear with a few pieces of jewelry would do fine. She wanted to accompany them back stage but Marika insisted that would spoil the surprise. Instead she led Kory to a table at the front of the stage where she, Marika, and a few patrons would enjoy the show.

"How's this?" asked Marika as showed Kory her seat.

"It is wonderful," replied Kory. "I thank you very much."

"Don't mention it, Oh! Come with me there's someone you really have to meet." She grabbed Kory's wrist and pulled her across the hall. Marika didn't let up on Kory until they were mere feet away from a table where sat a few young men plus the one Marika was so excited about. He spotted the two of them as they approached.

"Hey Marika!" He said brightly.

"Hi!" She replied. "I've got someone you have to meet." She looked back at her new sister. "Kory, this is Xavier Redding." Kory took Marika's place and shook Xavier's hand.

"I am pleased to meet you."

"Feeling's mutual," he replied. "I had a feeling I'd be meeting someone soon, Marika here hasn't shut since she met you."

Marika pretended to look affronted and placed her hands upon her hips. "Well I would gladly make my case but I'm afraid Kory is just too modest to back me up." As usual Kory glowed humbly.

"So…you are attending the Howard University as well?" she asked Xavier.

"No I'm still at a community college down the street."

"Xavier's father is one of our more frequent patrons," explained Marika. "Xavier is always welcome at Geisha house." He covertly rolled his eyes. "Well we better take our seats, Kory come with me."

"Nice to meet you Kory," said Xavier.

"And you too," she replied. They walked back to Marika's table. Kory leaned in closely as they walked. "He seemed…nice."

"Yes, very nice." She agreed with a wink. They ordered their meals and drinks and not soon after that a set of soft red lights illuminated the small stage. One by one each Geisha smoothly made their way out onto the stage like a flowery line. They were dressed from head to toe in traditional Japanese garbs and their faces were immaculately painted. Three of them remained off stage to provide the melodious tones to which the others began dancing. Everyone, including Kory, sat enthralled by how gracefully they moved in circles, in and about each other, and slowly coming to a halt. They wove themselves into a figure eight and, in unison; each unfurled a deep red fan. This concluded their first act, one of many to come along during the night. The audience applauded most graciously, Kory and Marika smiled broadly at one another as they clapped.

From high atop within the quiet confines of the box seating, several aged and young men watched the spectacle with silent expressions. The most prominent figure, though not the oldest, drew a cigar from a wooden case. He sliced the end off it and brought a small flame to it.

"She's late," said the youngest.

"Not as though it's out of the ordinary," replied a man in his early fifties.

"Forgive me gentlemen," said Moira as she suddenly entered from behind. "It seems a magician's work is never done."

"Moira," greeted the oldest.

"Carmine, how lovely to see you again." One by one they either bowed properly or kissed the back of her hand. The one enjoying the cigar stood up and gave her a nod of the head. "Anthony, always a pleasure."

-----

Richard was true to his word that they would be keeping an eye on Moira while not actually being present. Across the street from a high window, he and the rest of his team watched her and her company through the lenses of several high-end cameras. Richard snapped a picture of the last one to kiss Moira's hand.

"…Dimitri Kleb, Carmine Falcone, Salvador Carlisle, Kariif Hasheed, and the Vegas big wig of the day…Anthony Maretti." He took one more picture. "A whose who of mob and international bad guys."

"That dude that just kissed her hand is the latest Mafioso out of the Ukraine," said Logan. "Who the hell is this chick? She can invite all these people?" Richard could only smirk. He snapped away at the amount of evidence just begging to be piled on.

-----

The waiters always had a special seat and table for Moira in a prime location long prepared before she even arrived. She took her seat and without even glancing at the menu ordered the same item that she did upon her arrival.

Falcone pushed this bento box away and called for a menu. "You got anything other than raw fish? I could never live off this."

Moira replied, "My condolences, although I will admit blowfish is a risky treat to be sure." The young Russian envoy leaned against the balcony and looked down at Kory.

"She's nice girl," he said smirk.

"Eyes off Dimitri," said Moira. "She's a new one."

"What is it with you and your giant collection of broads?" asked Anthony. "You think'n of starting some kind of service or something?" Moira rotated around in her chair and looked at him dangerously. She moved her fingers on her right hand as though doing scales on an invisible piano. A playing card suddenly appeared between her middle and index finger.

"Anthony, I have ever once threatened to remove you of your manhood?" The others looked at one another. The old mob boss remained a stone. He ceased being a stranger to threats of all kind decades ago. "The answer is 'no' of course, but…there's a first time for everything." She gave the card a sharp flick and sent it flying at her guest. The card stuck into the chair between his legs like a sharp knife. "If you ever speak of my girls like that again…."

Anthony yanked the card out of the chair's leather and let if fall to the floor. "Get in line, dames like you have been throwing stuff at me for years."

"You said you have something worth the plane trip," said Dimitri. "I would like to hear offer now." His thick Russian accent strained the English woods. Moira felt slightly let down as she wanted to postpone her sale at least until after she ate. But one must never let a room full of mobsters grow too irate. She smiled at him and returned her attention to the Geishas down below.

"I know the business you are all invested in, gentlemen. I know the risks you take in order to make a well earned profit. I know the concern that is ever present with employees and hired hands who can't keep their mouth shut or do as they're told."

"What's the world come'n to?" agreed Carlisle. "Today isn't like the fifties' when you tell a guy to do something he'd do it. You tell a guy not to snitch he wouldn't snitch. Different age today. No decency and no respect, its all chaos."

"And how can I let you hard working gents suffer so much," sang Moira. "When I have a way to put your worries to rest." The crime figures then watched as her slender fingers placed a tiny phial on the table beside her; still she watched the performance intently. The phial was just a little bigger than the type given away at perfume counters and contained a deep blue liquid.

"What is it?" asked Falcone.

"Try some," she said with a small smile. The Geishas below were now flipping their fans about in many eye catching ways. "I hear it tastes like blueberries."

"I'll pass," said wary gangster.

Moira laced her fingers together, never looking away from the show below. "Imagine no longer having to worry about loyalty and deference. So much energy is wasted in worrying if your lieutenant will knife you in the back." Her eyes finally looked away from the show and settled on the red head seated close to it. She let her pendant dangle from her fingers and gently swung it from side to side. "Don't you wish some people would be more cooperative?" Her view of Kory was slightly impeded by the swinging ornament. "More……open."

"A think a bullet is a lot cheaper than what you're charg'n for this stuff," said Anthony with a derisive chortle. She irritably let her chain fall upon the railing and rest there.

"You talk about a short term solution, Anthony. Yes the price may be something less to be desired, but it decreases when purchased in bulk." They stared back down at the tiny phial. "Trust me when I say it is a worthy investment. My employer has gone to great lengths to ensure its reputation; he firmly stands by its success."

"Who is this…guy..you work for?" asked Carlisle.

"Apparently he ain't got a name," chuckled Falcone.

Moira snickered. "Oh...he has a name, the likes of you are simply forbidden to know it. Now, do we have any takers?" Dimitri cocked his head down at the sample and nodded.

"We try some."

"Excellent! Here is the account number," she slid a piece of paper with a number scribbled on it. "Just transfer the funds and I'll send you your case. So gentlemen, is Dimitri going to be the only industrious investor tonight?" It seemed that that was going to be the case, to which Moira could only shrug in dismay. "What a pity, well I'm certain that after our esteemed colleague raves about its success the rest of you won't be so hesitant. Now, I bid you goodnight." They all rose slightly from their chairs chivalrously until Moira made her exit. Anthony sat back down and mashed his cigar.

"What a mentality."

"Belongs in a certain nuthouse I know of," muttered Falcone.

* * *

REJOINING VICTOR…………..

Victor lay awake upon a metal bed within a dimly lit and warm recovery room. Half of his face was still covered by a single layer of gauze. He long ago awoke but was terrified to move. Even when Richard and Toni explained everything to him it all sounded completely bogus. And yet here he lay; without feeling in any of his extremities. Finally he dared budge a single finger and knew, not felt, that it was moving. He picked his arm up and in the darkness of the room made out a smooth metallic sheen. Slowly, he brought his hand to his face and pulled the gauze away. He heard the sound of metal scrapping against metal. He let out a broken gasp and let his arm fall back to his side. Only one side of his face leaked tears.

"Oh God….."

* * *

A bit shorter than the last one but I didn't want to make you guys wait as long. Laters!


	8. Alien Incognito

Damn, this took long! It's all the usual stuff people; work, writer's block, other stuff that comes up. This one is very short and was meant to be much much longer but I felt that you should get something after all this time. And, as always, I'm very happy and grateful for the reviews; **Bella~Rose, Cartoonfire, ~Roni78tx~, BonitaChikia, ThEnAmEsGiGi, Lupine-Eyes, Tennisgal456, Tsukikage1213, XxGraysonGirlxX, A Little Mind. **Thank you all. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Eight

Alien Incognito

Victor lay awake upon a metal bed within a dimly lit and warm recovery room. Half of his face was still covered by a single layer of gauze. He long ago awoke but was terrified to move. Even when Richard and Toni explained everything to him it all sounded completely bogus. And yet here he lay; without feeling in any of his extremities. Finally he dared budge a single finger and knew, not felt, that it was moving. He picked his arm up and in the darkness of the room made out a smooth metallic sheen. Slowly, he brought his hand to his face and pulled the gauze away. He heard the sound of metal scrapping against metal. He let out a broken gasp and let his arm fall back to his side. Only one side of his face leaked tears.

"Oh God….."

* * *

The loud rotors from three helicopter gunships shattered the tranquil air over the Atlantic. The crew of each chopper sat at their posts and scanned the ocean below. Their mission involved a certain missile frigate that, for some odd reason, had ceased all communications. A young British airman spotted something through his binoculars and signaled the pilot. The long silent and now halted H.M.S. St. Albans sat alone and darkened in the middle of the vast ocean. What windows and portholes that existed were darkened and devoid of any signs of life. The commanding officer took the youngster's place by the window.

"It's the Albans sure, and she's dead in the water!" he voice tried to outdo the loud ruckus made by the rotors. "Pilot!" Soon, all three gunships were landed upon the large deck of the ship and the dozens of combat equipped soldiers spilled out of each vehicle. At their superior's order they began entering the ship from multiple points. The commander, accompanied by two lesser officers walked through the nearest door at almost a jogging pace.

"I wan survivors and I want them two hours ago. Logs, manifests, family photos….I want it all."

"Yes sir." The acknowledging soldier took two more men for their task. The commander continued on his way, giving orders left and right as he passed his men. There was the sickening odor of corpses hanging in the air. It filled the corridors like a lurking gas and garnered the same affection as an unwelcome guest. The commanding officer finally reached the mess hall and the pungent smell only grew worse. Upon stepping through the doorway his mouth, and that of his fellow servicemen, slacked open. Dozens of bodies littered the floor and, along with the devastated furnishings, easily fueled any onlooker's imagination.

"Sweet Mary….," muttered the commander. He was careful not to step anywhere he would undoubtedly regret. A few soldiers carefully and respectfully searched around the bodies for any clues. His eyes fell down to the picture ID of an officer. Were it not for the picture above the officer's name the man would have been recorded as 'Officer John Doe'. "What the bloody did this?"

"Sir." Said a young lieutenant. His superior turned in place. "Ship's logs indicate no surface or submerged contacts for the past seventy-two hours." The saddened commander stared at him with a hardened look. "However…"

"Yes?"

"There is mention of…..of a girl."

"A girl?" repeated the commander with perplexity.

"Nobody knew where she came from. All it says is that she suddenly appeared on the deck and demanded food." The commander stepped closer to him.

"You're telling me that the only thing I will be able to tell the Admiralty about our country's missing vessel and her crew is……is that there was a girl here?"

"Yes sir," replied the soldier resolutely. The commander let his eyes fall to the floor momentarily. He then nodded at the subordinate.

"Right then, as you were." The young soldier returned the nod and set about his orders. The commanding officer walked back up to one of the few corpses still seat near the table. He spoke quietly to those nearest to him. "Start collecting dog tags, and inform the Admiralty we have two hundred and ten families that need to be notified."

* * *

BOSTON HARBOR………………..

For the first time since she bid farewell to the Albans, Blackfire spotted civilization. The lights given off by the many buildings stretching from Boston all the way to Cap Cod gave her limitless choices. She touched down on the summit of a water tower, which was decorated with fan assortment of colors. Her eyes moved over the vast metropolitan expanse and she placed her hands upon her hips.

"How pretty." She took flight again and drew closer to the buildings. The passing crowds below failed to notice her. She flew about, sometimes weaving between billboards and signs. As she looked down at them she could plainly see that their clothing differed so much from her own that she would easily be noticeable. That was not to say Koma didn't want that, just not at the moment. If she was to assume full control over this world, she would have to learn as much about it as possible. The best way to accomplish this was to remain incognito. Looking below once again, she spotted a couple cutting through an alley rather than having to circumnavigate the whole block. She decided they were prime targets and began diving.

The woman was speed talking to her date. "It's not really a 'woman' thing so much as it's like an ADD thing, you know?"

"No not really," replied her date tiresomely. Suddenly Koma landed before them and they both gasped aloud. The alien reached forward, grabbed him by the shirt and held him up.

"Stand aside, male." She tossed him into the wall and bore down on his date. "You, where can I find a merchant of earthen clothing?" She was so stunned and frightened that only broken words and short gasps escaped her. Koma brought her eyes to life, effectively using yet more fear to break the woman's stupor.

"Down five blocks!" She exclaimed. "It-it-it-it it's the closest one in three miles. Its one of those Goth type shops!"

"The name of this establishment?"

"_B-Blackfire Knits_…." Koma straightened up and folded her arms.

"What is your name?"

"Sandra…"

"Very well, when I assume dominance over your planet I shall do my best to ensure you are not among the casualties." As if the couple could not have used something more mind shattering, Koma took flight and was off in a flash. Koma was beginning to find herself surprised by how obedient these humans were with the smallest touch of fear and panic. It almost wasn't worth it to rule over such a species. The shop which the woman described came into view and Koma landed beside it. The windows were lined with dark purple neon lights and the name of the shop was brightly lit in the same manner. The shop's newest or most sought after items were displayed I the front windows for all to see. Koma arched a brow at the sight of it but shrugged and stepped inside. A chime rang throughout the store as she entered. What few customers and employees present, all looked around and stared at her. The man behind the counter, being the closest, nearly turned beat read at the sight of her shapely figure covered in metallic armor. Koma's eyes moved over each of them in turn. Finally, she turned her head and stared at the man.

"Can I….can I help you?" His voice was deep and a bit raspy, and his mouth was surrounded by a mustache and goatee. Her eyes found his nametag, _Carl_, and his title of manager beneath the name.

"You seem to be in command here, I demand service at once." Replied Koma with an icy tone. Carl glanced back at the other employees. They either shrugged or suppressed mocking giggles. He looked back at her and stuck a tootsie-pop in mouth.

"Uhhh yeah…., are you some guy's dominatrix?"

"What?"

"Hey I'm not judge'n," he said throwing up his hands. "You know, whatever floats your boat." Koma could hardly believe the audacity as well as the apparent stupidity of these… people'.

"I do not own a boat, peasant." Carl snickered and shook his head.

"Whatever, doll. Lucy! Fix her up." He switched on a mini TV behind him and opened a magazine. In a flash, the young employee so named 'Lucy' was ushering Koma toward the back.

"I think we can find you something, queenie." Koma would remember to punish that bout of insolence at a later time. For the time being she allowed herself to be shown many forms of attire of varying size as well as shades of black and purple. For someone who was supposed to remain permanently steeped in the dark and depressing, Lucy was making a valiant attempt to match whatever she pulled from the racks with Koma's dark hair.

"You know I've never seen hair quite as opaque as yours," she said admirably.

"I am certain that was meant as a compliment, such as it was." Lucy merely laughed and playfully patted Koma off the shoulder. Finally she selected a few garments which she was satisfied with and even more curious, so was Koma. When Koma walked back to the counter she had dispensed with her armor. Instead she wore a black mini skirt accompanied by an equally black sleeveless top and covered with a jacket of an extremely dark purple hue. Clearly, the success of Koma's plan to 'blend in' was going to be only skin deep. She looked herself over and nodded.

"Adequate, to say the least."

"Yeah that's hot, so….will that be cash or charge?"

"You expect me to exchange currency for these items?" asked Koma, genuinely shocked. He rolled his eyes.

"Well if it isn't too much trouble." Koma was a mere millisecond away from making regret rising this morning when her eyes fell on the TV behind him. It was a national news channel documenting a particular night in Vegas. Koma wondered why her attention was so easily drawn to the report. Her question was righteously answered when the camera panned around and focused on none other than Kory. Koma's mouth practically hit the floor at the sight of her sister, the voice of the anchorette narrated in the background.

"_What has been the hottest ticket in Vegas for the past eight years is still smok'n and as vibrant as ever._" Carl looked at her oddly as Koma stepped up onto the counter so as to get a better view of the tiny TV. "_As usual, the house was full and the city of Vegas never saw so much revenue._" Koma was hardly listening to the woman speak, her eyes were firmly fixed on Kory. When the report ended and highlights of the evening took its place, Koma hopped down from the counter. She yanked the TV off the wooden shelf.

"Hey!" shouted Carl.

"Where is this?" asked Koma sharply.

"What? Oh, those Geishas. What boulder have **you** been living under?" His curt question did little to lift Koma's growing irritation. He began to grow uncomfortable with the almost predatory expression painting across her features. "They show up at Vegas every month or so for their show. They're down at D.C. I think."

"Then I must see them."

"Well you've got the looks, I'll give you that. But I hear there's also a brains-thing attach to it, if ya know what I mean." Koma's eyes narrowed to slits. If it was one thing Komand'r of Tamaran could not tolerate, no matter which planet she was on, it was being insulted in the slightest bit. The stem of Carl's lollipop moved about between his lips. He jerked his head at her clothes. "You gonna pay for all that crap, or what?" Still keeping her slanted eyes as narrow as can be, she leaned forward on the counter. He arched a brow. Her mouth curved into a sinisterly seductive smirk. The other employees rolled their eyes as they watched her moved a hand up to his face. Carl cleared his throat and felt his body temperature.

"You know I-I should tell you…..I've done a deal like **this** in a while." Koma giggled and her fingers delicately grasped the lollipop stem. Carl nearly had a heart attack right then and then.

Koma suddenly yanked the lollipop out of his mouth, taking several of his teeth along with it.

"OH MY GOD!!! ARRRGGHHH!!" He slapped both his hands over his mouth and fell off his stool to the floor. His fall also took several items off the shelves behind him. Koma turned a blazing stare at the few petrified employees.

"Leave us!" Like rats abandoning a sinking ship, they scrambled out of the shop. Koma knelt down beside the trembling manager. Blood seeped down his chin. "So, that remark about 'brains'; I can only guess you were referring to my intelligence." Carl dared not try to speak out of fear and intense pain. "I suppose had I wished to totally stifle your powers of speech I would have taken your tongue instead. But now you are going to show far more respect to your queen aren't you?" Still he didn't move. Koma tightly grasped his hair and began nodding his head for him. "Yeeeessssss, we are." The last time that she brought his head back up she banged against the wall. Carl slumped over, out like a light. Koma dusted herself off while rising back up to her feet.

"Now where was I? Oh yes I remember." Pieces of broken glass splintered even further under the weight of her shoes. Koma stepped out of the store and back into the nighttime air. She cared not if anyone saw her take flight into the sky. As far as she was concerned, these human had better get used to it. For the moment however, that mission would have to be put on hold, for now……..she had a sister to find.

* * *

Again, shamefully short, but I had to give you guys something. I've got a whole week of nothing to do coming up so the next one will be longer and much better. Promise! Later all!


	9. Clans

Okaaaaaaaaay fans, fun lovers, and thrill seekers all across the blue green ball we live on. Its time for another excursion into the lives our chagrin FBI agent and lovable fuzzball alien. That's a weird way to describe her. I know. Anyway! This chapter is Bigger! Badder! and Better! (for all you fans of the "Mad Mod" episode). And to those highly kind reviewers; **Realfanficts, BonitaChickia, Cartoonfire, ThEnAmEsGiGI, A Little Mind, Bella-Rose, Skyler-A-Teloiv.** I say thank you to you all. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Nine

Clans

Koma stepped out of the store and back into the nighttime air. She cared not if anyone saw her take flight into the sky. As far as she was concerned, these human had better get used to it. For the moment however, that mission would have to be put on hold, for now……..she had a sister to find.

* * *

Logan walked back into the darkened confines of the team's office. They were allotted a fairly large space in which to work. Some were of the opinion that Richard's arrest record alone was not nearly enough to warrant so much money to one investigative unit. The fact that his team siphoned so much money every year was something Richard was not only unafraid to admit but (depending on how irritating they were) brag about to some people.

Logan let his backpack fall into his chair and he noticed that the machine beside his phone was blinking with a red light. He pressed the playback button and a digitized female voice told him;

"_You have thirty-five new messages._"

"Oh fun…" His index finger teetered over the 'delete' button. Of course, there was the highly off chance that one or maybe even two of them might be important. And then there's the possibility that Richard may just walk in one day and make a funny by deleting **everyone's** messages.

He's done it before.

His eyes fell on a few folders left by Danielle. On the top folder was a sticky note adorned with her handwriting; _Merry Christmas Richard, yes I'm starting my shopping __**this**__ early because…..well this is what you get_.

He flipped open the folder and smirked. "Well if that isn't a whopper puzzle piece."

* * *

AFGHANISTAN…………………

The sun rained down a plethora of heat upon the desert, hardly a single ounce of life was able to crawl about on the sand. Yet there slowly trotted a lone man. Malcolm Bell, possibly the lone survivor of Daedalus Air Force, braved the sun parched open plain in search of help. He had turned his ripped lab coat into a shroud and wore it over his head and neck. The bright white breathable fabric did quite well to reflect much of the sun's rays. However there was still the dry heat and it was quickly eroding his already diminished strength. He carried no water with him, as everything he left behind was completely destroyed. Over and over in his head he prayed the Hail Mary for some hope of survival.

'…jeeze, I would say a hundred more…consider them said……..some water would be nice.' It was his last coherent thought. Bell was unable to form two words together by now. His mouth had long become a desert itself.

Just beyond the horizon, his eyes spotted an encampment. Because of the distance it was impossible to tell whether or not it was an American installation. It was common knowledge that if it turned out to be the other side then he may just end up on the news as the star of a ransom video. Whoever they were, they spotted him as he approached and dispatched three jeeps to intercept him.

----------

"Doctor….?" A voice, a familiar voice rang through Bell's fogged mind. He wanted to open his eyes but the strain of trying to do so was enormous. "Are sure he's conscious….?" There was the voice again, except now it was speaking to someone else. Bell suspected that the voice was given a silent reply for he heard his title being spoken once again. "Doctor…." From some unknown source, Bell finally drew the strength necessary to open his eyes. After managing to crack them open even a little bit, the blurred form of General Hammond came into view. The more Bell opened his eyes the clearer the General became.

"Doctor."

"General…." Bell groaned and tried to sit up. The nurse beside him forced him back down.

"Take it easy son; you're lucky to be lying here." Bell looked down at his arm and saw an IV pushing fluids into his body. He trained his eyes back up to Hammond.

"You're….in command here?"

"No I flew in when the report about you reached Washington." Bell nodded. "What happened?" Bell's memory of the very recent events was clouded at the moment, mostly due to the morphine.

"The base, General?"

Hammond shook his head. "It's gone." Bell's confirmed suspicions caused his stomach to churn. Hammond's face as well as his voice took on a more serious tone. "Doctor, I need to know how an entire base was leveled and how three thousand good men were swept aside."

"Chang…" groaned Bell.

"Cha…..Professor Chang…"

"He let her out," breathed Bell. Still Hammond was not satisfied with the incredibly vague answers he was getting.

"Who is 'her'?" Bell's breathing quickened. A memory in the form of a sudden flashback suddenly played before his eyes. He watched Koma from the safety of his cover. Fire and smoldering wreckage surrounded her. With the fire, the only present source of light, accenting her darkened features, she turned her glowing gaze in his direction. It was like looking into the eyes of the devil.

"Koma…." Hammond pursed his lips together. "Komand'r, I was right about her General. Her people encased her in the pod and sent it adrift into space."

"Hoping that it would never be recovered," Hammond deduced. Bell nodded.

"They succeed in ridding themselves of her, except now she's landed on our humble planet."

"Hang on Doctor; you're saying that this one girl destroyed the base?"

"General until you see her in action you have no idea the powers this monster possesses. She could easily raise D.C. to the ground." Bell stopped talking for a moment. He felt a rising sensation in his throat and feared that if he continued he might vomit. The unsettling sensation passed in due time and he continued. "We need to find her and incarcerate her as quickly as possible, there's no telling what damage she could cause."

"If she's as powerful as you say she is then I'm not sure how willing the President is going to be to risk another division against her."

Bell now sat up slightly on his side. "The pod contained a special substance, which forced her body into deep hibernation. I believe….that if we could recover what is left of her capsule at the base, and I could study it, I might be able to design a means of incapacitating her."

"We received notice that a British destroyer was somehow boarded and attacked from the inside, so far as the Intel can suggest there were no survivors. The President has been spending most of his time on the phone with the Prime Minister."

"She's moving faster than I thought," said Bell. "We can't just attack her on random fronts; a carefully measured strategy will be an absolute must."

"And in the meantime?" asked the General.

"In the meantime, I suggest you find someone who can find and follow her; someone good."

* * *

D.C………………..

Richard Grayson sat alone in his living room. Kory was already gone to the school and would be staying there until they managed to close their investigation. Richard believed wholeheartedly that he would be able to get along just fine without Kory for a couple of days, a few weeks at the most. However it was becoming more and more clear, possibly not to Richard himself, that he had grown so used to Kory's presence that even a single day was causing him to become erratic.

He sat on his black leather chair with his eyes only dimly aware of what the TV was spitting out. The rest of the house, save for the kitchen, was shrouded in darkness. His mind was a cloud from the medicine coursing through his veins and it did nothing but help him focus even more so on his troubled thoughts. It was time like these that images and memories of that one fateful night cropped up in his mind. And though his drugged up senses only amplified the experience, he would not stop. His case, Kory, the Geishas, Moira, all of it slowly sank into oblivion. Voices rang in his ears, voices long gone or still present.

"_Richard!_"

His eyes were now off the TV and now looked only at the backs of his eyelids.

"_SHOTS FIRED!! SHOTS FIRED! Hostages are down, agent is down! The order to strike has been confirmed!_"

His hand gripped his cane as though he were trying to choke the life out of a snake. Sweat mingled with tears and his breathing so quick it was a wonder he was not hyperventilating.

"_Agent Grayson, it is with a heavy heart that I must inform you…that your wife and son were not among the survivors._"

"_Richard, I wish things were different……..I'm so sorry…_" Rachael's voice was muffled but he could easily remember what she told him while he lay in his hospital bed. The rest of the night, as well as everything else around him, became a meaningless blur. He could not recall the last time he felt this way; the last time he had allowed his addictions to take him dangerously out of consciousness.

-----

Morning dawned on Richard just as though he had closed his eyes, reopened them, and suddenly it was daylight. There was also a constant rapping on his front door. The doorbell still hadn't been installed but he was thankful for that. Richard found he was lying on his back on the floor in the small space between the couch and short coffee table before it. The table had a glass top so he was able to make out a slightly distorted clock through it. It was long past ten. Still the knocking continued, as though trying to say, "I know you're in there!"

Richard moved his throbbing head about until he spotted his cane lying forgotten a few feet away from him. Feeling like he would vomit with each movement, Richard crawled over to his lost crutch and used to slowly hoist himself back up. As time passed the knocks did not let up in the slightest, in fact, they were constantly one might mistake them for a normal operation. Richard walked almost blindly through his home, navigating it mostly from memory. He at long last reached his front door, pulled it open and saw;

"Victor?" Richard asked through fatigued eyes. None other than Victor Stone, his partner, stood on Richard's porch. Nothing about him looked out of the ordinary. There was not a sign of reconstruction anywhere. Richard blinked his eyes several times before clearing his throat.

"Why Victor….what brown skin you have." Victor rolled his eyes.

"Can I come in?" Richard stepped aside, allowing his partner passage. Victor waited for Richard to close the door again, owning much to a newfound feeling of discretion. He then pulled his sleeve back and showed Richard what looked like an Omega watch.

"Wow, nicest looking dollar sign I've ever seen."

"The watch projects an image over my new self," said Victor. He tapped the face of the watch and before Richard's eyes, the before visage of Victor Stone rippled away to reveal him as he was now. From head to toe his body was a shiny metallic surface, with only sections on each arm and half of his face remaining organic. Richard was truly at a loss for words as he stared ahead of him. "Uhh dude," whispered Victor. Richard looked up at his friend's face. "Could ya not stare?"

"Sorry," said Richard. He took his cane back in hand and walked past him. Victor put his holo-image back on and followed Richard into the kitchen. "So, do you have the strength of ten men..........or a million?"

"It's actually more of a question of weight to mass ratios," said Victor. Richard playfully rolled his eyes.

"Well that's not nearly as exciting." Victor moved his shoulders up and down apologetically. Richard then gestured to the watch Victor was wearing. The newly restored FBI agent nodded.

"Oh yeah, its something nifty your friend Wayne had R&D working on. It only responds to my energy signature."

"That just has a nice ring to it." Richard spoke over his shoulder. The team leader stopped by the counter and reached for a large bottle of pain reliever. Victor noted several intricate patterns imprinted on one side of Richard's face.

"You fell asleep on the floor again didn't you?"

"I did my best not to, you can put must of the blame on the special sauce."

"Yeah yeah, scotch it always great."

"Scotch is sooo last weekend, these days Disaronno is where it's at." Richard stole a few quick glances back at Victor as his guest leaned against the counter. "So…..how you hold'n up?"

Victor shrugged. "Hard to say, its not like they've got some head case to compare me to……first of my kind."

"Don't feel bad, they still haven't found the psycho equivalent to **me** yet."

"If there is one," snickered Victor.

"Great, your sense of humor remains intact and operational. I'll be spending the rest of my summer thinking up all kinds of robot jokes." Victor merely folded his arms and sighed, as though saying 'same old…same old'. "What's the situation?" He shuffled into a small bathroom just south of the kitchen.

Victor cleared his throat. "Well, Emily Regan's funeral is being held today. If I were you I might steer clear of that, don't think the father is any cooler from the last time you and he spoke. Kory's starting her classes today and her Geisha initiation. From what Logan's said, both she and Rachael are just fine….for now."

"Don't'cha just hhhhate that other shoe?" called Richard from the bathroom. The sounds of a brush quickly moving over teeth traveled out of the bathroom, followed quickly by rushing water. He soon stepped out, drying his face with a towel.

"Dani also needs to see us."

Richard shrugged. "She lonely?"

"She's got something for us. Her voice sounded a little shaky so I'm bet'n it's something big."

"Shannon?"

"Waiting in the car."

Richard nodded seriously. "Great, you want breakfast?" Victor felt the quickly rising urge to field test his newly acquired strength. Richard rolled his eyes. Some people just couldn't take jokes in the morning.

* * *

Richard could have sworn that the seasoned forensics expert merely wanted to show off her office's new add-on rather than simply tell them over the phone. She gathered them around a large blank white table and lay a card bearing a copy of the number on Kory's Geisha funded credit card. Immediately, a computerized circle grew around it and a display quickly typed itself out beneath the table's clear surface.

"Ohhh cooool," ogled Shannon. Danielle smiled primly at how easily her new 'toy' impressed people. Richard however was already reading through information at his fingertips.

"The account on the card was difficult to trace," began Danielle. "However.." She tapped a few icons on the table and shifted the view to a map of European cities. "Using one of the worms I have circulating through the web, I was able to link several banks spread over the globe; the most prominent of which are in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands."

"Big bankroll, even for someone like Moira," said Shannon. The former secret service agent leaned over the table. "So…Moira bankrolls the Geishas, but who bankrolls her?" Danielle continued;

"Each account has a firewall around it with a strength I've never seen before," she whispered somberly.

"Can you break it?" asked Richard. She nodded offhandedly.

"Maybe, if I had a few years of completely free time. Each account get's rerouted through several shell companies, which change every three hours, and are then poured through a number of dummy corporations usually out of Indonesia or the Middle East. But that's not even the most disturbing part of all this." Danielle then bent down to retrieve something from a shelf beneath the table. When she righted herself she was carrying a small Petri dish filled a modest amount of a blue liquid. As soon as she touched the container down upon the table a similar circle appeared around it as well as the resulting data.

Victor gestured to the strange liquid. "What's that?"

"I found it……in what remained of a certain mall donut shop." All eyes wandered up to Danielle. My own team was sent in to collect surviving evidence from the bombing and I found a small cache of this stuff under one of the floor tiles." Her fingers navigated the interactive tabletop like a practiced violinist. "Very recently, a new compound of unknown origin has begun circulating the black market. With no official name, it's been known by buyers and sellers as _Substance-86_."

"Never heard of it," said Richard with a small shake of the head.

"Neither did I until last night. Look here…" She moved the card off the table to make room for a larger chart of the compound. "No taste…no smell. The initial tests revealed that the compound contains an extremely addictive psycho-stimulant, and if taken in large enough doses can even render the victim completely suggestible. The more major terror cells swear by it and its becoming increasingly popular among cults and prison camps. So…gentlemen and lady, what we have here is-"

"Bottle-O-Brainwash," finished Victor grimly. Danielle lightly jabbed an index finger at him as though saying, "exactly".

"Then that donut shop was a drop & pickup point," suggested Richard. "The suicide bombing wasn't all suicide……it was a hit. Which means Moira's involved in something much bigger than just Vegas."

"So she dopes up Emily Regan on this stuff," began Shannon in a low voice. "And has her destroy it by detonating a bomb."

"Explains the reason behind the bomb…..but not the reason behind the suicide," said Richard. The three of them glanced at one another and then returned their waiting stares to Richard. "Think about it; if Moira wanted the shop destroyed she could have just sent Emily in under the guise of a normal pickup and set a bomb on a timed trigger. Instead, she made Emily kill herself in the process." At this point Richard was, for the most part, talking to himself. "……Two birds with one stone…" His last few words left him too quietly for the others to hear.

"For all we know **all** of the Geisha's could be on this stuff," said Victor as he picked up the Petri dish. "And if Kory's not careful, she just might find some slipped in her next drink."

"We have to warn her," said Shannon. Richard nodded to her in reply.

"Tell Rachael to tell her, and text…don't call. The less everyone around there knows what's going on the better." Shannon nodded and began walked swiftly out of the basement, her cell phone already in hand.

"Richard," called Danielle. He turned just in time to see her handing him a few papers. "Logan snapped some pictures while keeping an eye on Kory, he sent them just now."

"Great, he's watching her day and night."

"Someone's gotta keep an eye on our girl," Victor returned. Richard thumbed through the pictures until his eyes fell on a certain snap shot. It was of Kory and her new companions outside on their patio, except they were not alone. Sitting beside Kory was a young man and…..his arm was covertly on the back of her chair. His eyes narrowed as they concentrated on the hand behind Kory's back. Unbeknownst to Richard, Victor had stolen a peek of Richard's new interest. Slowly, ever so slowly, Richard turned his head at the staring Victor. It took a moment for Victor to realize Richard was looking at him. When he did, he chuckled nervously and began backing away.

"Yikes…..awkward." He retreated to the background in Danielle's company. Richard's ears just barely detected them speaking and Victor's inquiry as to who the young man in the picture was. Danielle's quiet reply managed to retain its desired anonymity, though it was hardly necessary. For Richard already knew who he was. While Victor took his leave Danielle returned to the table to shut it down as well as make some notes. She stole a few glances at Richard, noticing that he was practically burning a hole through the photo with his eyes.

"You know that guy don't you?"

"What gives you that idea?" asked Richard without looking away. She shrugged and went back to jotting her notes in her own coded language.

"I don't often see you stare at a picture like that." Richard said nothing. "Plus your nose does that flaring thing when you're jealous." At this Richard finally tore his gaze away from Xavier and instead placed it on Danielle.

"S'cuse me?"

Danielle straightened up and scrunched up her face inquisitively. "I've always thought of our association to be a bit of a quasi love/hate relationship." Richard arched a brow. "You know……days where I like you, tolerate you, dislike you, flat out hate you, etcetera etcetera…."

"Is there a point under all that makeup?" asked an impatient Richard.

"My point is no matter which one of those days it is I can read you just as well as you _think_ you can read everyone else." Richard's tired eyes drifted back down to the vision of Kory upon the table. Danielle's eyes followed his. "Are you sure this plan isn't dangerous for the both of you."

"You worry too much," muttered Richard.

"I don't think so," insisted Danielle. "Because I've seen what it looks like when you hit rock bottom."

* * *

HOWARD UNIVERSITY………………….

Kory finally finished assigning her clothes and other belongings to certain areas on her side of the room. As it turned out, Martha was remarkably conservative as far as taking up space was concerned. From a secret area in her bag she drew a small picture of her and Richard. It was taken just after they temporarily moved out of Richard's ruined home. She wished she could display it upon her nightstand but such a thing would utterly destroy her cover. She felt herself becoming a little confused as time went on. Xavier was visiting her a lot more and she tried to keep her relationship with him as much on strictly friendly terms. And even those thoughts were slightly diminished in their stress factor by the knowledge that her first trials were to begin tonight. The fact that they were not taking place in broad daylight only mired any hope of respite.

Martha stepped inside to find her new roommate closing her suitcase. "Knock knock," she announced herself by lightly tapping on the doorframe. "So, unpacked?"

"Yes indeed, about time too," replied Kory through a sigh. "You may find this to be an oddity, but I find that I cannot wait to start my courses." Martha nodded with a playfully confused smirk.

"Uhhh yeah, that does sound kinda weird. But! If you're _that_ excited about it, then I'm happy for you." Kory smiled broadly.

"Oh I am, truly." Martha, smiling as always, looked about until she saw Kory's bag sitting upon the Tamaranian's bed. She saw that a book was missing from it and soon found the missing text on a nearby table. She held out the book to Kory.

"Well, time to get geared up then. Your, or 'our', first class starts in half an hour."

"Which class is that?" inquired Kory.

"General pscyh," said Martha. "New professor too, uhhh…." She looked through her and Kory's schedules until she found their class. "Rachael Roth, hmm…..I feel like I've heard that name from somewhere." Kory's insides did a horrible lurch. Martha then shrugged off the thought as nothing more than a case of déjà-vu. "Eh, maybe I haven't. Anyway we better get going and! Don't forget about tonight," said Martha while moving her eyebrows up and down. Kory sighed nervously.

"Believe me……I have not." Martha groaned pitifully and hugged Kory over her shoulders from behind.

"Ohhhh, don't you worry about a thing. Nothing painful or humiliating happens and I can promise you that no one has ever died or anything." While looking straight ahead, Kory reached up and held one of Martha's hands.

"That is….most comforting." Martha giggled and gave Kory a little squeeze.

"What I'm here for, come on!" She jumped up from Kory's side and fetched her own bag. "And who knows, you might even run into Xavier again." Martha sent Kory a quick wink, to which Kory could only reply with a quiet chuckle. She stuffed the single book into her bag and, first getting to her feet, slung the heavy book bag over her shoulder. Rachael explained to her the night prior that she would not go any easier on Kory in her class, for cover's sake as well as the standard of learning. Kory told her that she understood perfectly and that she would apply her best effort to her studies. Her undercover work had officially started days ago, and yet, from somewhere in the back of her mind, Kory felt a whisper telling her that perhaps she did not wish for this to simply be a temporary placement. The red head could not tell from where or whence this thought came, but every time it came to her it grew more and more indelible.

"Kory?!" Martha's voice broke Kory free of her revere. She shook her head and responded.

"I am here Martha, I…..I simply forgot something." It was a lie as well as a smidgen of honesty. In cases such as this, either one would do.

* * *

LAS VEGAS…………………..

Moira walked alongside two bodyguards through a hallway deep within bowels of her thriving casino. The renowned illusionist was most disgruntled at the moment, having been taken away from a rather important meeting. It was a common practice for casino operators to not have cameras installed in the lower levels of the building. The reasons behind this practice were more or less unscrupulous enough to speak for themselves.

"Next time something like this comes up it can at least until after I'm done."

She entered through a set of double doors and in the middle of one of the main boiler rooms a young man sat tied up and gagged and surrounded by burly security personnel. One of the guards was currently stretching his arms about and the player's face was covered in bruises and blood. Moira strode up to him and tanked his tie off.

"You should take greater care of anything from Armani, and blood stains so easily." He only groaned in reply. "Despite first impressions of me I actually have quite a high tolerance for defiance. I think it's actually quite a healthy thing. But if there is one thing I absolutely cannot abide in **my** casino……" She walked around behind him and bent down to other untouched ear. "….Its a counter.." She straightened back up. "You might be asking yourself why I would get so upset about something like that. After all counting cards isn't illegal, either by law or the Nevada Gaming Commission. So why does it make me so angry?" She took a cattle prod from one of the guards. "Because the customer is not supposed to win." Without a second's hesitation she jabbed him with the prod and he tensed up with muffled cries. After several seconds she drew away from, not wanting to get too sweaty. On her way out she handed the cattle prod back to its original owner.

"Don't stop until he does." Moira was then out of the room as fast as she could be, but this was only due to how much she wished to get back to her meeting. Moira feared almost no one in this world, but there was at least one and she dared not cross him on even the slightest thing. It was a tiresome journey to make; from the basement all the way back up to her penthouse upon the top floor. She tapped her foot impatiently against the floor of the elevator, wishing it could suddenly ascend twice as fast. When she finally did arrive on her floor, she felt it only too soon. She let herself back into her main living quarters and proceeded to another room guarded by a biometric hand and eye scanner. Inside was a darkened office with only one furnishing in it. It was a half circle table lined with nearly a dozen computer monitors. Moira sat down before them and light tapped the keyboard before her. A blurred and darkened silhouette appeared on each screen.

"Gentlemen, I apologize for the interruption." She resituated herself for better comfort. "Shall we continue?"

"Buyers if you please," said one of the screens. The one on the other end could have been either male or female, but a voice synthesizer distorted their voice to that of a deep drawl.

"Yes of course, let's see…..ah yes. We have received payment from the Russians as well as the North Koreans. It will only be a few shipments before they're ready to permanently play ball. I've also included an extra incentive with each shipment."

"Is such a thing cost effective?" asked another screen.

"It hardly matters," replied Moira. "They will not be around long enough afterward to prove any trouble to us; although the timing must be absolutely precise. They will not stay friendly for long. France, your status?"

The so named screen responded. "The new president is gallingly difficult to manipulate." The distorted French accent filled the small room in which Moira sat. "However, some more…disloyal associates have pledged their assistance."

"And when they realize they have been deceived?" asked another. "How will we maintain our level of control when the time comes?"

Moira smirked. "Substance-86 is not without its drawbacks my friends, but one can hardly disregard its long term effectiveness. Let us not forget why we are working so hard for this plan."

"And the motion to bring China into the fold?" proposed a screen in the upper right. "The asset has been successfully planted and awaits further instructions, shall we proceed?"

"Aye," said Moira.

"Aye."

"Aye," said another. One by one they voted in favor of the new proposition. Once all of the votes were given, and the motion passed, Moira nodded her head.

"Wonderful," said Moira shortly. "Now unfortunately my short disturbance has caused this meeting to run for too long a time. I suggest we adjourn for now." Without waiting for their replies, Moira logged off and shut down all twelve monitors.

* * *

REJOINING KORY…………….

Rachael ended her class a little early for their first day. Unlike many of the other professors, Rachael new no mercy as far as "first day work" was concerned. Amidst a chorus of moans and groans the criminal psychologist unleashed a gestalt of reading and review questions. Kory looked about at her fellow classmates with inquisitive marvel. It was a great question to her as to why someone who endeavors to learn something would be so adverse toward strengthening that knowledge.

As Kory left the class, being moved along by the strong current of rushing students, she spotted Rachael trying to get her attention. The dark haired agent stood behind the cover a cracked door and kept motioning for Kory to join her. Looking left and right to ensure that no one saw her, Kory veered off course and entered the small office.

"Friend Rachael?"

"Kory."

"Congratulations on your first lesson," said Kory. "And you may be certain that I absolutely do not oppose your issuing of the homework."

"Thanks Kory, really. But I need to talk to you about something pretty big." Kory nodded and listened. "Shannon just sent me a message. Danielle has identified a strong chemical that Moira and maybe even Marika have been using to control the Geishas." Kory's mouth parted. "You start your induction rites tonight, don't you?"

"Yes…."

"Okay, whatever you do…whatever you do…..do not drink **anything** that they give you. This is Party-Survival 101, it doesn't matter it is soda, wine, or even water." Kory shook her head.

"Can-Can I not simply detect a foreign substance in my beverage by-"

"It doesn't have any taste or odor, Kory." Said Rachael grimly. The red head let herself rest against the opposite wall. She now felt weak at the knees.

"Thank you Rachael, I was curious as to how I could possibly be more scared." Rachael let her shoulders sag, feeling a slight amount of guilt at Kory's apprehension. She even saw a single tear of anxiety leak out of one of her eyes. Rachael sighed and drew a tissue from a nearby box.

"Come on, I'm sorry for having to tell you this. But if I hadn't…….I wouldn't be able to live with myself." Kory silently took the tissue and dried her eyes. "Just remember what I told you and you'll be fine." Kory wanted to believe what her friend was saying, but it beyond difficult. And for the second time she felt as though a second voice was whispering to her to actually ignore Rachael's words, and for the second time Kory was able to brush the voice aside. It frightened her though, thought notion that at some point she might not be able to. In any case, Kory forced a smile to appear on her face.

"I fear that I may only sound melodramatic," she began quietly. "But if something should happen to me…….I wish for Richard to know…" Her already failing voice faltered. Rachael felt she could use a rest and took her shoulders.

"Don't worry, he does."

* * *

Richard sat by himself on a park bench overlooking the vast ocean waters. The remains and wrappers from a meatball sub were crumpled off to the side. The air was fairly warm and the breeze was infrequent. As per a phone call which he placed earlier, someone was quickly drawing closer to him. Soon the visitor was seated beside Richard and unwrapping his own lunch. Richard looked to his left at none other than Xavier Redding.

"Red."

"Dick," replied Xavier.

"So," began Richard in his characteristically unsavory manner. "The FBI and the CIA sharing lunch together, it's cute." Xavier nodded with a mouthful of an Italian cold cut. "That explanation I mentioned over the phone, I think I'd like to have it now." Xavier swallowed his food.

"We may ultimately bat for the same team Dick but intelligence gathering is a competitive business, you know that."

Richard rolled his eyes. "Right and we both get super awesome gold stars next to our names for each time we thumb our noses at one another. Come on, what's the agency's interest in Moira and Geishas?"

"What's yours?" asked Xavier.

"I'm trying to solve a murder, and I'm trying to keep more of them from happening." Xavier looked away and took another big bite of his sub. "Red, you and I go back. What, semper fi doesn't mean anything anymore?"

"Dick, things may be easier at the bureau. But when you step through the door at Langley things get complicated. Where they really get muddled is the line between cooperation and treason."

Richard grew frustrated. "Do I look like I'm trying to bust any O.P. you have going open?!" He calmed himself and turned in place slightly so that he was now fully facing Xavier. "One of my people is undercover within Moira's operation; please tell me something I don't know." Xavier, now righteously torn, hesitated for a long moment. Richard was positive that his old associate was heavily pondering his options. Finally, Xavier put his sub down.

"The war on terror is no less critical now then it was on 9/11, and recently we as well as MI6 have become aware of an entity circulating through all of the usual circles of big bad guys. So far the biggest lead we have is a name: _Deathstroke_."

"A person?" asked Richard.

Xavier shrugged. "The official word is that the guy doesn't exist, and we're more inclined to believe that." Richard furrowed his brow in bewilderment. "Based on what we know we believe that _Deathstroke_ isn't necessarily a single person but a cabal of terror cells, each stationed in about a dozen of the world's top countries. So far, all evidence points to Moira being the American cell."

"And the Geishas?" posed Richard.

"Most likely they're just a pet project of Moira's," replied Xavier. "I would be willing to bet none of them know anything about what Moira's truly involved in. I assume Danielle found the substance-86?" Richard nodded. "She's a sharp tack that one. The Geishas are most likely used a control group for Moira's experiments with the drug."

"But none of this explains why Moira killed Emily Regan," insisted Richard. "All that stuff about cells and secret factions…that's your department. I have another puzzle to solve." Xavier shrugged and stood up.

"Well then maybe you're talking to the wrong person. I've gotta go Dick, whoever it is you have one the inside…tell them to watch their back."

"Maybe you can tell her the next time you see her," said Richard. Xavier regarded him with a confused frown. "Kory likes to make friends, it's unavoidable. But I'd appreciate it if you two stayed that way." For a few seconds, Xavier was stunned into silence. He had heard the word that Richard had found someone who was willing to put up with his unique personality; but he had no idea it was **her**. Richard's coarse demeanor softened. "Don't take this from me……I've earned it." It was safe to say that Xavier wasn't about to speak much to that. He felt a familiar twinge in the pit of his stomach and silently turned away. Richard remained sitting, watching his old friends walk farther and farther away. He lightly beat his forehead against the top of his cane.

"You." It was generic calling, one often associated with rudeness. His head perked up and he looked about until he saw who it was that had spoken to him. It was a young woman dressed in mostly black and purple attire with the most striking feature being her long shiny black hair.

"Same to you," croaked Richard. "Need something?"

"Indeed, I am looking for my sister. I was told she would be in this area." Richard shrugged and got to his feet.

"Sorry…I don't do cats in trees, missing persons, or 'who stole the money for the big bake sale'." She cocked her head to one side. "Find someone else; the police could probably make themselves useful." He turned to walk away but Koma leapt over him and blocked his path. Richard nearly tripped over his cane as he stopped dead in his tracks. His mouth slumped ajar as he stared at Koma. She hovered off the ground and allowed a tiny hint of light to shine in her eyes. He now regarded the nubile lady before him with a newfound sense of propriety. Richard gulped; there were not many other people on Earth who could do what she just did. He wondered why before now he hadn't noticed the resemblance, if only in power and ability.

"Sister huh?"

* * *

Night quickly fell over the grassy nulls and crowded buildings near Howard University. Kory had not been able to pay attention in any of her latter classes that afternoon. Her meeting with Rachael was too overwhelming to simply relegate to a back thought. And certainly not Martha's assurances would sooth the poor Tamaranian. She feared being discovered of course, but more than that she feared losing her mind and will to a demigod.

'I will simply not accept any beverages that they offer me', she told herself. If Rachael was right, then all she had to do was adhere to that cardinal rule and nothing would happen to her. From this did she draw a minute amount of extra strength. In any case, the time was quickly upon her. Marika instructed Kory to dress simply, as ceremonial attire was not yet necessary. Martha of course offered her help in prepping Kory one last time before it began.

"Remember, this isn't about impressing anyone, it about you carrying out some minor tasks."

"Minor you say," said Kory quietly. Martha stopped what she was doing and noticed Kory fidgeting with her fingers. "You're still afraid aren't you?" Kory looked at her.

"Were you not?"

"Of course I was. I remember the night I was beginning the rites, I was so nervous that I actually thought about using the sheets to make a rope that I could sneak out of the window with." Both girls derived a hardy laugh form the anecdote. "Seriously though, you have nothing to be afraid of. And, might I add, **I** never had someone telling me this stuff. So you're off to a great start." Both girls slipped into hesitant silence. Kory was excited and scared to death while Martha only wished to help but feared exacerbating things. Finally Martha held out her hand.

"Come on, they're waiting."

Just as Martha said, Marika and the other veteran Geishas were all gathered in the main living room of their quaint little home. They all stood in a very uniform crescent shape. The lights were dimmed just enough to cast a mysterious fog over the entire room. Martha escorted Kory until she received a nod from Marika, then she took her place among the others. Kory stood before them as though they were deciding her ultimate fate. Marika then smiled proudly and held up a small but ornate chalice. Like synchronized swimmers, the others followed suit and raised similar glasses.

"Here's to the beginning of a great era for you Kory," toasted Marika. From a hidden area behind her back she drew another unclaimed chalice and held out toward Kory. Kory's supernaturally green eyes locked onto the cup and regarded it with the same welcome as a deadly viper. Marika was of course quick to notice Kory's hesitation. "Something wrong?" There was something in Marika's tone which further frightened Kory; as though she was worried Kory wouldn't take it. All eyes, including Martha's, were drilling into the red head. The first of many surreptitious beads of sweat made itself known on the back of her neck. Before she would allow them to grow even more suspicious, Kory smiled weakly.

"Forgive me, I do wish to join you but if it would not be to offending I would like to serve myself." Marika remained silent, as did the other Geishas. Kory immediately regretted her bravado. Then, surprisingly, Marika chuckled and stowed away the second cup.

"Certainly you may, Kory!" She procured a clean chalice and slowly strode up to her. "After all, the last thing we would want…" Her face was unnervingly calculating. "…Is for you to be uncomfortable." She held up the chalice which Kory gingerly accepted. The two stared quite intently into each other's eyes for a long moment. "Kitchen's in there," Marika suddenly said.

"Right." Kory nodded and immediately ducked out of sight into the kitchen. Marika and the others all stared at her as she quickly disappeared into the other room. One lone Geisha approached Marika from behind and when she was no more than a few inches apart from her Marika spoke in a low whisper,

"The bottles too?"

"Yes Mama-San," replied the Geisha. Marika snickered.

"Bloody marvelous…"

* * *

To be honest, I planned on bringing Koma in next chapter but I felt like now was a perfect opportunity for her and Richard to get acquainted. And if any of you are thinking Victor's taking his change too well…….there's this thing called "Denial". Until next we update….I bid you Laters!


	10. Rite of Passage

This took a lot longer than I would have liked. Work and a family vacation put it on the back burner. But I'm back and I have an udpate. To those who reviewed last chapter and have since the beginning; **Lupine-Eyes, Brensong, ALittleMind, Skyler-A-Teloiv, RagingSapphireStorm, CartoonFire, BonitaChickia, Tennisgal456**. You guys are the greatest! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Ten

Rite of Passage

Kory's supernaturally green eyes locked onto the cup Marika gave her and regarded it with the same welcome as a deadly viper. Marika was of course quick to notice Kory's hesitation. "Something wrong?" There was something in Marika's tone which further frightened Kory; as though she was worried Kory wouldn't take it. All eyes, including Martha's, were drilling into the red head. The first of many surreptitious beads of sweat made itself known on the back of her neck. Before she would allow them to grow even more suspicious, Kory smiled weakly.

"Forgive me, I do wish to join you but if it would not be to offending I would like to serve myself." Marika remained silent, as did the other Geishas. Kory immediately regretted her bravado. Then, surprisingly, Marika chuckled and stowed away the second cup.

"Certainly you may, Kory!" She procured a clean chalice and slowly strode up to her. "After all, the last thing we would want…" Her face was unnervingly calculating. "…Is for you to be uncomfortable." She held up the chalice which Kory gingerly accepted. The two stared quite intently into each other's eyes for a long moment. "Kitchen's in there," Marika suddenly said.

"Right." Kory nodded and immediately ducked out of sight into the kitchen. Marika and the others all stared at her as she quickly disappeared into the other room. One lone Geisha approached Marika from behind and when she was no more than a few inches apart from her Marika spoke in a low whisper,

"The bottles too?"

"Yes Mama-San," replied the Geisha. Marika snickered.

"Bloody marvelous…"

Kory staggered into the kitchen. Her heart was racing at pace which would render a human being utterly neutral. She darted her eyes back at the open doorway, making sure she was not being shadowed. How foolish she felt. Only a few days ago she had snapped at Richard about how much she enjoyed the Geisha's company and that he was being far too overbearing and paranoid. Now it was clear to Kory that one of two things had happened. One; this sisterhood was not prudish in the slightest bit about trying to induct a new asset, or two; Marika has discovered who she really is and **still** aims to subjugate her on Moira's behalf.

"Kory!" she heard Martha's voice. Her roommate was calling to her. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes," replied Kory as steadily as possible. She found three bottles of the specially catered wine on the counter before her. Taking a leaf out of Richard's book, she chose the one that was unopened and therefore least likely to have been tampered with. Carefully, she poured herself barely a half glass and returned to the rest of the group. They remained in their perfect formation and greeted Kory with renewed smiles.

"That better?" asked Marika sweetly. Kory swallowed and nodded.

"Indeed, thank you."

"Oh…don't mention it," said Marika waving her hand. She took a few steps back and rejoined the half circle of Geishas. "Now, as we were, Kory….this night you begin a series of task at the end of which you will have proven your worth as one who wishes to join us." Marika held up her chalice. Like synchronized swimmers, the rest did the same in a quick wave. "Good luck to you." And they drank. Kory took the tiniest sip from her wine and nodded approvingly.

"We will depart now then?" she asked.

"Yes, oh…well…there is something that we should wait for first." Kory's brow furrowed.

"Wait for what?" Marika smiled and tilted her head slightly. Kory was very much perplexed by the lack of answer she was getting but it was a fleeting thought. Kory was totally unaware that her chalice had slipped from her slackened hand and its contents stained the carpet. Her mouth parted as a strange dizzying feeling swept over her. Her vision became distorted and a small gasp left her.

"I….I am…"

"Doing wonderfully," said Marika sweetly. At once Kory's vision cleared but still it was strange how everyone around her appeared to have strange auras flowing about them. It was a hallucinogenic effect of whatever it was running through her blood stream, and it terrified the poor Tamaranian. The slightest turn of her head rendered the world around her into an indistinguishable fog.

"Kory?" Martha's voice sounded like a deep echo. Slowly, she turned her head to her roommate. "It's time to go." Whether or not Kory felt at all up to going anywhere was irrelevant, for she was soon being ushered out the door. She tried with what little will she had left to pull away and go back up to her room. Marika felt her resisting and tightened her hold.

"Uh ah ah, mustn't go yet sister." Kory tried and tried to activate her powers and take refuge in the sky. She cared not if they saw her suddenly take flight; escape was the only thing on her mind. Yet as adamant as she was about leaving the Geisha's custody her body betrayed her and she moved along at their behest.

* * *

REJOINING RICHARD……………

Koma sat outside Richard's house at a table on the large deck facing the forest boarding his yard. Her narrowed eyes irritably followed a mosquito as it buzzed about before her. Whether or not she knew its carnivorous intention was immaterial, that fact is she viewed it with the same contempt as she did any species weaker than her. She carefully extended her right index finger and began moving it about until its course matched the mosquito's. The tiny fly uttered one last buzz before its already short life span was extinguished by a tiny shot from Koma's finger.

From within Richard's kitchen, he, Victor, and Shannon watched through a window atop the sink. Victor swore for the eleventh time in the same minute that he would tear his gaze away.

"I gotta say Dick…..this is the hottest-strangest…" He changed his description upon receiving a whack on the arm from Shannon. "…person you've ever brought back."

"Thank you for not pointing out Kory," mumbled Richard.

"She's _your_ gal," said Richard's partner.

"I don't understand," said Shannon. "Why now? After all this time, why would Kory's sister just show up?"

"She hasn't said much of anything," said Richard. "By the walk and talk of her I doubt she does anything except make demands. Wait here." He took up his cane and began his slow trek outside. Victor stood upright off the counter and semi followed him to the door.

"You sure you wanna go out there alone?" Richard and Shannon exchanged a look. He grinned and nodded.

"Oh yeah, it's been a bit of a dry spell without Kory. Remember we never got to do the conjugal visit thing for my twenty-seventh birthday."

"Barb was in the other room," replied Victor with an ironic chuckle. Richard smirked as he stepped through the backdoor and headed over to Koma. She stood upright at the sight of him and folded her arms.

"There you are. I must say I am highly displeased by the lack of attention as of late."

"That so?"

"Indeed and you know where my sister is, human." Koma narrowed her eyes almost to slits and approached Richard very dangerously. "I demand that you take me to her at once."

Richard nodded and smiled as semi-politely as possible. "Can't do that." Needless to say that Koma was hardly impressed by his bluster. She remained silent. "She's helping us work a case." Still Koma was unmoved. "…Under cover." He spoke with an obvious tone, as though to any sane normal person the reasoning would have bee quite clear. "Look, here's the deal; I represent the law here on earth and Kory's helping me stop some people who are breaking some big no-noes. She's infiltrated what is probably their squeaky-clean-cover and is reporting to me what she finds out." Komand'r appeared confused at first. Richard was on the verge of explaining it in far more irreverently when she began to raise her hand.

"So…let me see if I understand you correctly." Richard folded his arms and waited for her 'analyses'. "You are burdening **my** sister, a member of Tamaranian royalty, with a task suited to a lowly magistrate?" It was not in Richard's nature to beat around the bush. If that was her question then he felt it necessary to answer it as honestly and as candidly as possible.

"Yeah." Koma was beyond aggravated. Her nostrils faired and her temper rose to new heights.

"This….is AN OUTRAGE!" Richard sarcastically cringed at her enlarged words. "What audacity you boast to coerce my sister into such a menial task!"

"She's a member of my team, you're majesty," replied Richard. "I told her about the job and she took it willingly and eagerly." Koma folded her arms and turned away from him.

"I refuse to believe that she would allow herself to be involved in such uncouth rigmarole. Therefore I demand once again that you take me to see her at once." Richard raised his eyebrows up and down.

"Uh huh, yeah well that's not gonna happen." Koma's stringent look was kept steady for a moment but then she melted it into a chuckling smile. She approached Richard and after running a finger up his arm she looked him in the eyes and offered him a counter proposal.

"Either you do as I ask or I shall visit a heavily populated city." She picked a piece of lint off his person and then her hand then settled on his wrist where it gripped his pulse with a painful strength. "And when I leave it will be **un**-populated."

-----

Richard stepped back into his kitchen in semi-huff and wanting something hard to drink. As soon as the door was snapped shut he threw his cane onto the kitchen table and used the counter space as a support.

"Bitch."

"Now Richard," said Shannon. She looked intently outside the window.

"What'd she say?" asked Victor. Richard was only too happy to elaborate.

"She wants to see Kory." Victor sputtered out a sarcastic chuckle.

"Yeah well, she's gonna find out that that's a 'no-can-do' at the moment."

"Well maybe **you** can try and convince her?" The two partners in anti-crime locked gazes. "You with all your…..cyborg manliness." Victor was hesitant at first. He shifted his eyes between Richard and the slender alien outside. After some much needed inner deliberation he finally decided to take Richard up on his offer.

"Alright, I will. Let me show you how it's **really** done." Victor picked himself up off the counter, not knowing that his newly acquired weight had left a dent in it. Shannon moved her eyes over it then looked at Richard. He glanced at the dent and shrugged his shoulders.

"Eh....it'll buff out."

Outside, Koma heard the door closed again and was both surprised as well as irritated that it was not Richard. Instead, it was Victor. She rolled her eyes and sighed tiresomely.

"Another human?"

"Yer half right," he said. He unclipped the watch as he walked and his person changed back into its true self. Koma's arms unfolded and she smiled with a quirked eyebrow.

"Well well…..an interesting amalgamation of artificial and meek, how truly fascinating." It was difficult to tell weather or not she was actually impressed or if her words were utterly derisive. She could see the look in Victor's eyes and relished what was soon to come. "So what is it you want?"

"You've got an attitude problem." Victor made crunching sounds with his metallic knuckles. "And I'm the solution." Koma's eyes were already beginning to glow purple. She smiled maliciously. The dark haired alien removed her dark purple top and after throwing it aside dug her heels into the soil.

"And here I was just wondering when or how I would be receiving my daily laugh." Victor uttered a low growl and charged forward. The bounding mass of metal reared back his fist but when he brought it down he punched nothing but the earth. Koma hand leapt into the air, front flipped clear over his head, and used her exiting momentum to deliver a hard kick to his back. Victor skidded forward, nearly completely losing his footing. He was still not quite acquainted with the full potential of his new body while Koma has had her entire life to know her strengths and limits. The thought occurred to Victor too late for he now felt his weight being lifted up by his ankles. Koma, laughing while she did it, spun around and around until she was satisfied with the amount of force and let go.

"WHOOOOOAAAA! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Victor flew high over the trees and across the forest like an artillery shell. Koma smirked and took flight. Needless to say this display did not go unnoticed by Richard and Shannon. She ran outside for a better look then dashed back into the kitchen.

"Richard?!" He paused in the middle of eating a sandwich.

"Whaf?" The bewildered agent gestured in the direction Victor had flown.

"Are you just going to let them do this?"

Richard shrugged. "He's a robot; we can put him back together." Shannon growled and rubbed her temples. He watched her begin storming back outside and let his snack fall to the counter. "That was a joke, Shannon. You know…JK?"

-----

His fall through the many branches and trunks had given Victor a trajectory which landed him flat on his back. His shiny and mirror surface was now fogged and smeared with dirt. While his organic eye opened his cybernetic red eye sparked back to life.

"Ohhhhh, yup……that one hurt." He hardly had time to get back on his feet. From out of the sky came Koma, knocking away broken trunks and whole entire trees as she descended. He quickly moved out of sight as she had not really spotted him yet. Her feet touched the ground and a purple spark hovered in her right open palm. Like a surveillance camera, her eyes rotated about in search of her opponent. Koma was not one to remain idle, even while not engaged in battle. She slowly walked about looking around for Victor. Beneath her feet twigs and leave crunched and snapped. Her other hand soon donned a ready ball of energy. She grew to respect his ability to remain out of sight but it was also quickly trying her patience.

"Is it in a human's nature to cower and hide?!" She said aloud. She snorted a snobby laugh. "It amazes me that your species has lasted so long." Suddenly Koma heard loud cracking sounds behind her. Spinning in place, her eyes gradually crawled up the enormous tree which was beginning to fall where she stood. The Tamaranian quickly clapped her hands over her head and focused her powers into a steady stream. The quick burst cut the through the trunk and left her unharmed when the two pieces fell on either side of her. Victor shot up from the mass of leaves and hoisted Koma over his head.

"Your turn to fly! HaaaAH!" While not utilizing his full strength, Victor managed to toss Koma a fair distance away. He happened to throw her into a thicket of smaller trees, thus she bounced about between them like a living pinball before falling to the ground. Victor moved his neck about with a rather smug look. Koma picked her head off the ground, spitting out some bits of grass. She said nothing but only jumped back to her feet and swung at fervently at Victor with her charged fists. Now that he had his bearings and some idea of how his foe acted, Victor was able to dodge most of her punches. Unfortunately Koma was also a quick thinker. She brought her foot up which managed to hit him with a stunning side blow. At the same time she clasped both her hands together and swung the powered up ball into Victor's face.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She cried. Victor lifted off the ground and tumbled backward. He finally stopped moving and oddly enough felt a painful sensation in his metallic region. He moved his mouth about and spit out a loosened tooth.

"Ouch…" Koma pompously strode up to him and with a snap of her fingers brought to life another sizzling starbolt.

"I believe the fight is mine."

"Believing….isn't seeing!" Victor brought his arm up and before Koma's eyes his hand shrank away to reveal the gaping barrel of a ready cannon. Koma and Victor stared directly into each other's eyes. It was an energy-based game of chicken from here on out. One waited to see if the other would pull push from the table and call game. Neither had any intention of allowing the other to walk off the field with their shoulders held high in victory. Komand'r desired nothing less than the total dominion over this impudent challenger. Victor, on the other hand, sought only to teach her some basic manners. Both of them were poised to fire at a moment's notice.

"HEY!" Both Victor and Koma looked down the path they had made to see Richard and Shannon climbing out of Shannon's car. She was the first to reach them. "That's enough." Koma steadily maneuvered her eyes from Shannon and back down to Victor.

"Hmph, to be saved by one of your females…tsk tsk tsk." Victor glared up at her. "How crippling." The haughty ex-princess died away her starbolt and began strutting back toward the house. Shannon shook her head as she watched her leave then offered Victor a helping hand. He however stood up all on his own accord and roughly brushed a pieces of moss off his shoulder.

"I got it." He walked past Shannon, though he was careful not to hit her. The oriental agent stared after him dejectedly. After a short pause she too ran to catch up with the group.

* * *

Kory's fear had long ago died away into euphoria. She knew she must have some sort of smile on her face. The fog in her head was resting comfortably on her mind and any prior thoughts pertaining to escape had melted away. In her current state, she enjoyed watching the world whizz by while she rode with her fellow Geishas. 'Is this the feeling Rachael spoke of?' she thought. She wondered why her friend was so fearful of it. How could anything that made one feel so good be dangerous? She had been so foolish to be afraid. Marika was her friend, and her friend would never hurt her. The entire ride Martha kept her arm slung over Kory's shoulder, as trying to keep her company for as long as possible. From Kory's dulled perspective the ride lasted for so much longer than it actually was. Their journey took them only a few miles away from the Geisha's sorority house. Their destination was a garden which was kept protected by a tall iron gate. The small caravan of black Lincolns came to a slow but somewhat immediate stop, an action which amused Kory enough to elicit a bubbly giggle.

Kory's door opened and with Martha's help she stepped out of their car and joined by the others. Marika drew a brass polished key and unlocked the large pad lock holding the gate shut. At her order to Geishas pushed open each barred door and the proceeded inside. Kory's dilated eyes took in the high hedge formations and even in her stoned state of mind deduced that it was a hedge maze. However, navigating the maze was not to be Kory's task this night, nor possibly any night. Instead they took her to a much more secluded spot and sat her down on an ivory bench. While Martha remained at her side, Marika and the others stood before Kory.

"Sister…"

"Uhhhh….y-yes?"

"In just a moment you will begin your rites, are you prepared to see them through without fail?"

"Yes," replied Kory immediately. She was not in any mind or mood to disobey. Marika appeared positively delighted but in a most sinister way.

"I'm glad to hear it. Your first task will embody our trust in one another, and ultimately, the trust you must have in us." She nodded to Martha and Kory's roommate immediately covered Kory's eyes with a blindfold. And that was it. All euphoria was utterly destroyed to be replaced by rushing fear and apprehension. The sudden claustrophobia caused Kory's breath to catch in her throat. She might have burst into tears had Martha not sensed her feelings and began rubbing her hand.

"Don't worry, you're okay…….you're doing great."

"Kory," said Marika sternly. Kory turned her head in the direction of the voice. "This is what you must do: we are going to leave you, and no matter what you hear or feel you must not move from this spot. If you violate this law then your future as a Geisha will be forfeit." Already beads of sweat moved down her head. "Do you understand?" Kory felt her mouth opening and words climbing out on their own.

"I….un-understand."

"Then we'll be back and we'll see you in the morning." And just like that their presence disappeared from around her and Kory was alone. She need not have heard any real sounds or felt any real sensations. Her inebriated mind filled in the gaps of her imagination with ease and with gusto. All around her she began to hear quite wisps of air and the sounds of something scratching against metal. She heard the wind being disturbed by enormous pairs of wings. Kory uttered a terrified squeal at the feeling of something crawling down the back of her neck. The urge to reach back and slap away whatever insect she was imagining was almost overwhelming, but she remembered her orders and did not budge an inch. Soon after, following the sounds and sensations, Kory began to hear voices. They were not prodding or humiliating; but foreboding. They reminded of her of the Silent. They took her back to the day when they shared a fairly quiet conversation while she precariously held a bomb in her lap; a bomb which he had fooled her into accepting.

_"Do you not regret your actions?"_

_"I regret everything, dear. Its part of the burden I carry."_

She was not necessarily consumed by fear but the longer she sat there by herself the closer she came to completely breaking down. Kory hated the cold shoulder of loneliness and grew exponentially nervous whenever she was unable to escape it. All around her now the wild seemed to come alive and encircle her. Kory turned her head about and her hands gripped the edges of her stone seat so tightly her knuckles turned white. Richard had taken her to a haunted house not too long ago. A regrettable choice on his part perhaps but his company was enough to get her through it unscathed. Her influenced thoughts conjured all manner of disturbing sounds and feelings. Kory could have sworn that she began to feel the sensation of an army ants slowly crawling up her legs. Still Marika's order to stay put kept her shackled in place. She had to trust that her friends would not allow anything ominous to befall her; such was the purpose of this test. But Kory could not help her feelings. She tried to imagine Richard was sitting next to her, possibly even making fun of someone just to add to the authenticity. Sadly all thoughts of her earthbound love were blocked entirely by the compound still pulsing through her blood stream. She wanted it to end. She pleaded with whatever omnipotent being who was listening to bring it to an end.

-----

The next thing Kory new she was hearing the twitter of birds greeting the morning. She felt the new sun beating down on her and a gentle breeze rustling the trees and flowing through her hair. It was the next day and she was now free to remove her blindfold. Upon doing so Kory was met with a sight then made her jaw hang open. Marika, Martha, and everyone else who had accompanied Kory were still standing before her just as they had the night before. Kory's hands let the blind fold fall to the ground.

"Morning," said Martha. Kory felt her eyes beginning to moisten.

"Y-You…..never left me…"

Marika smiled broadly. "Of course not, Kory. Trust has to go both ways. Just we had to know we could trust you, so you had to know you could trust _us_."

"Believe me every time you cried I wanted to yank off that damn blind fold and tell you it was nothing," pleaded Martha. Kory felt her shoulders sagging and her will to dislike them fading away. "I love you, Kory." Martha sat down beside Kory and threw her arms around her. Marika then did so on Kory's other side.

"We **all** love you…"

* * *

Richard sat among his friends and, now their constant company, Koma. While Victor and Shannon zipped about the office making calls and matching up photos, Richard sat staring a peg board with a pyramid tree of their current suspects and persons of interest. Every now and then he and Koma would exchange a look of resentment. It was obvious as to why Koma disliked Richard; he was a human. For Richard, it was a simple matter of perhaps meeting his match in the ancient and age old ways of 'pompous'. Koma smirked at him with a calculating wink. Richard shook his head and returned his attention to the board.

With his lips semi-pursed together he whispered, "God damned she alien." No sooner had this barely audible whisper escaped him than his cell phone began buzzing in his pocket. He drew it forth, flipped it open and answered it. "Yeah…?"

"_Richard, its Danielle_."

"So it is," he mumbled. "What've you got?"

-----

Within her lab Danielle was once again pouring over her table top computer. The whole of the horizontal display was taken up by her latest analysis.

"I've been going through the sample of substance 86 and uh…uhhh…um-"

"_Come on Dani get the shit out, what do you have to say?_" She leaned back slightly and put a finger to her earpiece.

"Someone's a little cranky."

"_Danielle…_"

"Right, it turns out this stuff was looked at by several major players in the UN for its possibilities in biological warfare."

"_Right, you mean the highly illegal way to fight._"

"Exactly, and that's not the only new thing I've dug up on this stuff." She tapped an area on the table just as Richard curtly asked her to elaborate. The whole view of the table switched to a display of an undersea floor. "The final product has to be fermented, like wine. It's derived from a micro-organism, usually found in an exotic form of algae."

-----

Richard was watching Koma again, only this time she was keeping her steady gaze on Victor. He noticed the fingers on her right hand were playing with her hair. He then asked the question that was currently preying on his mind.

"What kind of organism."

"_The parasitic kind, I'm afraid. A refinement process is supposed to strip the finished product of any impurities but for your everyday bad guy-_"

"Making sure a highly addictive hallucinogen is perfectly safe isn't a number one priority."

"_No its not. It's been rumored that with every case of ten vials there's at least one or two that still have an amount of the parasite mixed in._"

Richard took his eyes away from Koma and looked down toward the floor. "And all of this means……what?"

"_Well, as you know, a parasite needs a host in order to survive. And sometimes……it doesn't want to let go._" Richard made no reply or noise. He closed his eyes and snapped his phone shut.

* * *

"Ah!" Kory woke with a sudden start uttered the gasp that normally accompanies it. She was so shocked by her sudden rousing that for a few moments she failed to notice where she was. It was her in her bed, within her dorm room. Martha was lying in own bed, sound asleep and snoring. She lay on her stomach. Her breathing was still coming in rapid breaths, almost uncontrollable. Eventually she did manage to calm her beating heart and overworked lungs. With a glance at the clock on her nightstand she saw that it was nearly midnight. A pain, which had been dormant during her slumber, crept its way from the back of her head to the front. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead with a low whimper. It was the worst headache she had ever been forced to endure.

"Ohhh….this must be the 'hung over' feeling…" Richard had described it to her several times as she has helped him through it often. She still saw slight blurs as she walked out of her dorm and toward the bathroom. The poor pained alien stumbled as she entered but was able to catch herself on the sink. It sat against the wall just below a window overlooking the rest of the campus' dorms.

Kory cupped her hands and splashed the pooled water onto her face. A single rinsing proved to be insufficient thus she repeated this process three more times. Finally she was satisfied and she shut off the water. She blindly reached for a sky blue towel and dried her face. The pain was still present but she at least felt a little cleaner. After taking several breaths she stood up straight. What she saw next made her forget entirely about her pounding headache.

Kory's eyes grew to the size of saucers at the sight of none other than Komand'r standing atop a spire of one of the other dorms. She swallowed and gazed out the window. Koma titled her head then merely waved at her sister.

* * *

Well they were bound to meet up sooner or later. The question is what will happen! Until next update......Laters!


End file.
